Transformation
by transmutejun
Summary: What happens when you wake up and the body you remember isn't yours anymore? The consequences of Cross Karokorum are many...   This is the first story in my Consequences trilogy.
1. Introduction

Introduction

_No… it wasn't possible!_

But it was. The being known as X moaned in pain, suffering the agony of knowing that it had all been for nothing. Selectol had been destroyed.

How had it happened? What had caused his homeworld to suddenly be obliterated in an instant? Had his race destroyed itself, or had their enemies been responsible?

He didn't know.

And that was the worst of all. This had been so unexpected, and there was no _why_… it simply _was_. He had no purpose, no reason…

He had to return. He had to determine if his senses were accurate… if this was truly…

Deep in his soul, he knew it was. But perhaps… perhaps there would be survivors. Others, like him, with whom he could engineer a fresh start. A rebirth.

He had to leave. It was imperative that he return home… if it could still be called that. And yet, he could not leave with matters in the state they were at present. The Black Hole Plan…

That was the key.

The Black Hole Plan… A malevolent twist, that not even that idiot Katse would see coming. It would serve these puny minions right. This was appropriate recompense for their multitude of failures. And no one had been more of a failure than his own creation.

Of course, he couldn't leave such an important thing to Katse. That bungling fool had been thwarted far too many times by the Science Ninja Team. At some level, X understood that if he were to leave now, Galactor would be defeated once again, and his plan would never come to fruition.

X had to stay on this worthless rock until the bitter end.

He couldn't afford another failure, and he could not trust in Katse. His power to act himself was limited, as a result of the unique combination of the vast networks of ultraredonic magnetic pulls associated with this planet. Without significant shifts in the Earth's mantle, he was unable to physically move, and his powers only stretched so far.

But there was _another_ option.

The apparatus.

Before he had left Selectol, his superior had given him this device, carefully instructing that it was only to be used 'in times of extreme emergency; where there is absolutely no other alternative'. X understood the meaning behind this dire warning: the results were unknown, and only to be risked if there was nothing left to lose.

Perhaps this _was_ the time…

But then again, was _all_ truly lost? Was it completely impossible that Berg Katse might succeed on his own, without outside aid?

A mere thought brought the Chaos Apparatus close to hand, its inky black surface seeming to engulf all other light in the chamber. X stared at it, lost in its ebony depths.

Did he dare?

Activating the apparatus meant giving up control: handing over the results of this contest to pure chance. For Time itself would be disrupted, and Chaos would ensue… and who was to say whether that chaos would help or hinder his cause? In the fifty orbits he had suffered on this remote world, he had never once even thought of activating the apparatus. But now, was there truly any other choice? If he left the planet, then Berg Katse would fail. In his soul, he knew it to be so.

Passing a portion of his energy over the Chaos Apparatus was sufficient to activate the device. The very air seemed to hum on a molecular scale, and he could feel the matter of which he was made begin to tear itself apart, atom by atom. A bright blue light enveloped his entire being, flashing forth, only to be swallowed by the darkness of the Earth surrounding him.

_What had he done_?

Horrified by his actions, X pulled back his energy, shutting down the process he had barely begun. This Chaos Apparatus could spell his doom! Before he could be tempted once more, he banished the device to the furthest reaches of his domain: a place that would never be disturbed again. X had made his decision. He would remain on Earth just a few days longer: long enough to supervise Katse, and ensure that the Black Hole Plan reached its appropriate conclusion.

From deep within the bowels of the Earth, the Chaos Apparatus was still. Yet a pinpoint of light had appeared on its otherwise perfect surface.

All was not as it had been before.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Pain.

A wave of pain swept over me, and it was impossible not to scream in agony. Except somehow, I _couldn't_ scream. I wasn't able to make a sound. And in a strange way, that made the pain even more excruciating, because there was no form of release available to me. The pain seemed to last for an eternity, and then, suddenly, it was gone.

Okay, not _completely_ gone, but lessened to a dull ache that felt like heaven in comparison. I was able to push it aside, to figure out what was going on with the rest of me.

For one thing, I couldn't see. It took me a few seconds to realize that this was because my eyes were closed. Unlike usual, I couldn't simply open them with a thought. Instead, I had to pry my eyes open, forcing them to peel back with torturous slowness, leaving a trail of grit in their wake. Blinking was slightly easier, but my eyelids felt creaky, as if they had fallen into disuse.

I reached up to rub the itchiness away… at least, that was my intention. Instead, I smashed my fist into my head, sending further spasms of pain ricocheting inside my already beleaguered skull. I tried again, this time more slowly, and only succeeded in pressing my fingertips against my eyelids, narrowly escaping permanent blindness. My body lurched reflexively, and then crashed back down onto the bed.

The bed. I was lying in a bed, and my body was attached to a number of tubes and wires… I was in a hospital. Given the way I felt, I suppose that this was entirely reasonable. And if the doctors had already treated me, that spoke volumes about what I had endured before I had gotten here.

What _had_ I endured? The last I could remember was being at Cross Karokorum.

There was a soft sound to my left: the whoosh of an automatic door. Footsteps, firm and steady, crossed the room, approaching the side of my bed.

"Are… you… the doctor?" I asked. My voice was something of a croak, as if I hadn't spoken in days… weeks…? Longer?

"Yes." replied a man's voice. I turned my head a few degrees to the left to look at him, and saw him bending over to pick up something. A moment later, a thin tube gently pushed itself between my lips, and instinctively I sucked upon it. I was rewarded with the clear, cool taste of water filling my mouth and trickling down my throat.

I blinked, this time a little more comfortably, and a man came into focus. He had a long gray beard and a sharp, almost hooked nose. He wore a long black cloak and… was that a _bird_ on his shoulder? I guessed I still wasn't seeing things correctly.

"I am Dr. Raphael." the man said. "Do you remember _your_ name?"

"Of course!" I burst out indignantly, realizing belatedly that while my croak had lessened somewhat with the water, it was still very much in evidence. "My name is Jun!"

"Welcome, Jun." Dr. Raphael intoned emotionlessly. "Welcome to my lab… and to your new life as a cyborg."

At first I wasn't certain I had heard him correctly. A _cyborg_? _Me_? But Dr. Raphael continued speaking, either unaware of, or purposely ignoring, my shock.

"When I found you at Cross Karokorum, you were on the verge of death." he explained. "Do you recall what happened to you?"

"I…" My forehand furrowed as I did my best to remember. I had been moving through the fog, searching for Joe. I had heard him, and I had been running toward the source of his voice… and suddenly Galactor soldiers had been surrounding my position.

"Aim for her bracelet!" the soldiers had screamed. "Get her!"

As I had heard them call out, a thrill of fear had gone down my spine. I had pushed aside the momentary terror I had felt at those words and run faster, sending out my yo-yo to the left and right, taking out my enemies one by one. It had been easier to focus on the battle then on the possibility that these men knew the secret of my transformation.

But as I had been running, I had happened to glance down to the ground, and I had seen… I wasn't entirely certain what it had been, but there had been a flash of blue light coming from within the Earth itself. It had been just enough to cause a momentary hesitation on my part…

And then my bracelet had been hit by laser fire.

My wrist had seared for an instant, and then I had felt the burn of de-transformation. There had been another flash, this one coming from my own body… and then I had been back in my civilian clothes.

The Galactors had swarmed me at that point, certain of their victory… and they had been right to be so. I had fought valiantly, but there had been so many of them, and I had lacked the protection of my Birdstyle. They had surrounded me, and I had felt a scorching impact on the back of my neck…

I couldn't recall anything else, before waking up here.

Dr. Raphael was staring at me, letting me sort through my thoughts. But I guessed I was taking too long to answer his question, because he spoke once more.

"You are the Swan, of the Science Ninja Team, are you not?"

In my weakened state, it was difficult to contain my gasp of shock, but somehow I did. I even managed to weakly shake my head in denial, but this Raphael wasn't having any of it.

"Don't bother denying it. I found this on your wrist." he said, tossing a small object next to me on the bed.

My bracelet.

A tear slid down my cheek, despite my best attempts to stifle it, as I stared at my damaged communicator. The golden faceplate was intact, but it had buckled, and crooked scorch marks bore testament to its encounter with a Galactor laser rifle. These were battle scars… my bracelet apparently hadn't fared any better than I had.

Of course, I was alive… albeit a cyborg, if this Dr. Raphael was to be trusted. Perhaps… perhaps my bracelet could be repaired as well. If only I had the proper tools to work with…

"I'll give you some time to rest." Dr. Raphael said calmly, apparently unperturbed by my emotional response. "I'll send a nurse in an hour to perform a few tests. We can speak again tomorrow."

He left, and I was alone once more.

88888

I finished my water and managed to turn my head a bit more to examine my surroundings. It definitely seemed to be a hospital-like room, yet I noticed that there were no windows of any kind. I wondered if it was truly a hospital at all. Despite having only a brief impression of Dr. Raphael, I wouldn't have been surprised to learn that I was in some kind of experimental laboratory… or a prison. Either way, the thought made me shudder. I was used to being under Dr. Nambu's care, and no matter what happened, I always knew that Hakase had my best interests at heart. This Dr. Raphael was an unknown, and during our brief encounter I had received the impression that his primary concern was not me, or my well-being, but rather the result of what he had done to me.

What _had_ he done to me? He had said that I was a cyborg. Now that I thought about it, I realized that it had been this statement alone that had caused me to immediately distrust him. How could he have turned me into a cyborg? First, wouldn't I have _noticed_? That kind of transformation took a long time, involving many different surgeries and tests… I couldn't have been unconscious for _that_ long. Could I?

Unless… unless he had kept me drugged, forcibly asleep while he had performed these procedures upon my unwilling body. Needless to say, this thought didn't make me trust him any more than I already did.

But as troubling as this was, there was another, more sinister, underlying fact; a fact I had been doing my best to shy away from, rather than examine fully.

Only Galactor made cyborgs.

Galactor was the only organization with the technology and expertise to create unnatural beings of this kind. Dr. Nambu had once mentioned someone working in that field within the ISO… a woman, but I couldn't recall her name. Yet her work was purely theoretical, and based on examination of Galactor cyborgs who had been killed. No, it simply wasn't possible that anyone who possessed sufficient knowledge of how to create a cyborg was working for the ISO.

I was in the hands of Galactor.

Worse yet, they knew who I was. Dr. Raphael had had my bracelet. That meant that they had my Birdstyle, or at least, my civilian uniform, and my yo-yo as well. How much information had they already gleaned from these items? However much it was, it wasn't enough for a man like Berg Katse… or for an entity like Leader X.

They would want to interrogate me.

Of course, I had no idea what they already knew, but I understood that I simply could not reveal anything further to them. In my weakened state, escape was impossible. Theoretically, I could try to contact the others on my bracelet, but it had been so badly damaged, I knew that it would need significant repair time before it could function again. And that was time I didn't have. Dr. Nambu had spoken to us many times about a situation such as this. I knew what my options were, and they were severely limited.

There was really only one choice: I had to protect the others.

I heard the soft sound of an automatic door, and then a series of footsteps. A nurse appeared, wheeling in a tray of medical instruments.

One of them was a large scalpel.

I focused my eyes on my goal, pushing aside the pain and tiredness I was feeling. I needed that scalpel. It was all that mattered. Once it was in my hand, it would only take an instant to slit my throat, and then the others would be safe.

_Ken… my final gift to you…_

Frustratingly, the nurse wheeled the tray into the corner and then placed the instruments inside a cabinet. Fine. I could get to them the next time they left me alone. But then another opportunity presented itself.

The nurse pulled out a large device from a recessed wall panel, moving it over to my bed. I had no idea what the device was, nor its intended purpose, but I focused on one aspect of the thing.

It had a power cord.

The cord was much thicker than for a standard appliance, indicating that the device used more electricity than a usual machine. I was riveted on the cord as the device came closer.

"I need to get some readings." the nurse explained in a friendly voice as she plugged in the machine. I ignored her. My entire being was focused on that cord. Another two centimeters… maybe four…

The device came closer. One centimeter. Two centimeters. Three… and then it stopped. More than enough. I concentrated all of my effort into my right hand. My arm shot out, grabbing the cord and ripping it from the device. I barely had time to wonder at how easy this had been, before I shoved the frayed end of the cord into my mouth.

My body convulsed on the bed, and I heard the nurse screaming outside the door.

"Primary is down! Primary is down!"

And then it was over.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"You stupid, thoughtless girl! Do you even have any concept of what you've done?"

The harsh words startled me, and my eyes popped open, only to behold Dr. Raphael's indignant face above mine. Even the bird on his shoulder seemed to stare accusingly at me.

"As I thought! You _are_ awake!" he spat in disgust. "Did you actually think you were even capable of killing yourself? But your idiotic little stunt wiped out your memory core, and I had to reconstruct your data banks by hand! Can you even conceive how much of my time and energy you have wasted?"

I stared at Raphael in shock, unable to tear my eyes from his purpling face. It was clear that he was enraged, and instinctively I steeled myself against my enemy, doing my best to hide the fact that I was somewhat frightened by this unexpected display.

I did not respond, but merely stared forth, my anger and disappointment blazing in my own eyes, now that my fear had been suppressed.

"I had expected more from a Science Ninja." Raphael said angrily. "Galactor was so afraid of you. And for what? You are as ignorant and stupid as they ever were!"

My mind passed over the insult (I had heard far worse from Berg Katse and such comments were easy to take in stride) and instead focused on Dr. Raphael's last words.

He had said 'as they _were_'. Did that mean that Galactor was gone? Had Ken, Jinpei and Ryu truly been able to defeat them? A wild hope surged inside of me. After a moment, I realized something else. Raphael had referred to Galactor as 'they'. Did that mean that he didn't consider himself a part of Galactor?

The Doctor was barking a series of curt instructions at the nurse, but I could see him calming down as he spoke. When he had regained his composure, he turned back to me.

"Did you actually think that you could kill yourself?" he asked incredulously. "Aren't you aware of the limitations and capabilities of cybernetic beings?" I did not say anything, as I had no idea of how to respond to these seemingly rhetorical questions.

"Your entire skeleton has been reinforced with whisker." Raphael began lecturing, as if I were a small child. "Your spinal column, which was completely destroyed, has been reconstructed and your nervous system reengineered. All your idiotic stunt accomplished was to short out your system and wipe your databanks. You weren't dead. Far from it." I blinked in surprise at this blunt statement.

"All you have done so far is to prove your usefulness to me." Raphael's mouth twisted in a wry grimace. "Or to be more accurate, your _lack_ of usefulness." I seized upon these words, knowing even as I did so that I was grasping at straws.

"If I'm useless, then you have no reason to keep me here." I said blandly, doing my best to reveal nothing.

"You'd like me to fall for your pathetic maneuvering, wouldn't you?" Raphael's voice was laden with frustration. "I've wasted too much time and effort on you to do that. If I had known that you would be so resistant, I never would have taken you to begin with, but just left you to die."

"I'm having a difficult time believing that." I replied.

"I've been completely honest with you, Jun." Raphael shook his head sadly. "I don't want to reprogram your personality, because I don't know how many of your 'special skills' I'd lose after such a procedure. But what surprises me is your attitude. I would have thought that you would _want_ to assist me in destroying Leader X."

"So much for being honest." I pointed out. "Why would a Galactor want to destroy Leader X?" It wasn't exactly that I didn't believe him; more that I wanted further explanation for his unexpected statement.

"Galactor?" Raphael snorted. "I left them long ago… if you can call it 'leaving'."

"No one leaves Galactor." I stated. I knew this to be the truth from many sources, not the least of which was Joe's personal experience.

"I discovered that, to my detriment." Raphael sighed. "I would never have joined them if I'd known what they would become. But they were the only ones with the resources available to continue my research. The ISO was still playing with children's toys in comparison to what I could… what I _did_… accomplish under Galactor's patronage." I wasn't the least offended by the doctor's words. The ISO had long known that Galactor's scientific prowess outstripped theirs in many areas.

"What did you do for them?" I asked curiously. "What kind of work?"

"You have no intellect at all, do you?" Raphael sighed in frustration. "Cybernetics! It was Galactor who funded my research, who allowed me to fulfill my dream of creating my first cyborg…" His eyes took on something of a faraway expression as he recalled his past.

"Come to think of it…" he murmured after a pause, "my first subject was also a young woman, equally as stupid and stubborn as you. Listen to me, Jun. She came to a bad end, not listening to me. She didn't understand her limitations and tried to contradict her orders. Don't you make the same mistake. You need to understand what you are and what you can do, before you go charging off on your own."

"Orders?" I questioned him.

"Lucy's orders were complex. She had a difficult time assimilating them; they went against her nature. And she had been altered far beyond my original intentions… but that's another story. But you… you can use whatever methods you want, and you've only got one order."

"And that is?"

"To destroy Leader X." he smiled thinly. "Something you'd be inclined to do anyway. All I've done is taken you from the brink of death and re-created you, to make you better able to attain that goal."

"And why would _you_, a self admitted Galactor scientist, want to destroy Leader X?" I was doubtful.

"I _was_ a Galactor scientist, back when I foolishly believed what they told me. I was lured by the research funds they offered, blinded by their state-of-the-art facilities. But when I learned what my creations were being trained to do… all of the innocent lives they took, in the name of Galactor's terrorist agenda… I couldn't do it anymore. I resolved to leave, and continue my work alone. But of course, they wouldn't let me. Berg Katse wanted to kill me, but Leader X insisted that I be kept alive, as my knowledge of my creations was invaluable to him."

"How long were you held captive?" I asked, fascinated by his story, in spite of myself.

"It was just over two years." Raphael replied heavily. "Sometimes I had no idea how I'd make it to the next day. They barely fed me, and the guards were none too gentle. But still, I existed… and when the earthquakes began, I knew that my chance was near. As I had suspected, my guards were called away, and then…" his voice drifted off for a moment.

"And then?" I prompted.

"And then the ceiling caved in. I saw the sun, for the first time in two years." Raphael went on. "There was light coming from above me, so I did the only thing I could: I climbed. I moved up the rubble until I was finally free."

"Where were you?" Jun asked.

"At Cross Karokorum." Raphael answered. "The same as you. In fact, I was very close to you. Your body was in a hollow just below the surface of the ground. I might never have seen you if I hadn't had to pass by your location." For a brief moment I wondered about that. This just all seemed _too_ convenient. Yet Raphael's story rang true. Many scientists _were_ bribed to join Galactor, only discovering what it was all about after it was too late. And Leader X keeping Dr. Raphael alive purely for the information he could provide… that was something I had seen before as well.

Still, I wasn't certain whether or not I was pleased that he had found me.

"You were in bad shape." Raphael continued, as if he were reading my mind. "Your spinal column had been effectively vaporized, and you were losing a lot of blood. I did what little I could to stabilize you before bringing you here." He gestured around the room, but his manner indicated a more general sense of the word 'here'.

"And where are we, exactly?"

"That is none of your concern at this moment." he answered. "I had begun construction of this facility years ago, when I was planning to leave Galactor. I didn't think it would take me this long to occupy the place, however…"

"Galactor doesn't know you're here?"

"Galactor no longer exists. At least… not at the moment."

"What?" My body attempted to bolt upright into a sitting position, but the numerous monitoring devices attached to my body prevented the completion of this maneuver, and instead I flailed awkwardly as I sputtered my surprise.

"Of course, you aren't aware of what's been going on. You haven't seen the news."

"I can see the news?"

"Yes, I'll have the broadcast monitor turned on for you." Raphael replied, waving his hand dismissively. "But in summary, Berg Katse is dead, the Earth is battered, but still in one piece, and Galactor has been defeated… for now. Leader X left the planet to go back to Selectol, and the Science Ninja Team has been disbanded."

I froze, overwhelmed by the flood of information crashing over me. Yet one fact stood out, pushing aside all the others.

_Ken had done it_. He had succeeded in defeating Galactor and saving the Earth. The peace we had so desperately longed for had been achieved. I had always believed in Ken; I had always known that under his leadership we could succeed in our ultimate mission.

What was Ken doing, now that his duty was no longer a factor in his daily life? What would I be doing, if I weren't here? Would we finally be together, in the way that I had always longed to be with him?

One thing was for certain: Ken and I could never be together now. Not when I was… not even human.

"I can see that this is a lot for you to process." Amazingly, it seemed that Dr. Raphael was actually capable of displaying a modicum of sensitivity.

"What is it you want of me?" I asked, shaking my head to clear it of the fog it was in.

"I already told you: I want you to destroy Leader X." Raphael repeated condescendingly, all semblance of sensitivity gone. "He is not on Earth right now, but I understand the fascination our planet holds for him. His own world has vanished, and X will return here. When he does, we will need to be prepared. The ISO has disbanded the Science Ninja Team. The UN is demilitarizing their troops and allocating all of its resources to relief efforts. The people of this planet do not comprehend that it is far from finished; there are further disasters in store for them, for all of us. This war is not over."

I stared at him, for the first time gaining an insight into what Dr. Raphael was truly about. And to my surprise, I found myself agreeing with everything he had said. Leader X _was_ obsessed with the Earth. He _wasn't_ the kind of entity that would simply give up. Unlike most of the Galactors we had faced, he would go down fighting, convinced of his inevitable success, even as he was dealt the ultimate failure.

"How do you suggest I go about this?" I asked, in a determined tone.

"We'll discuss that later." Raphael replied, almost kindly. "In the meantime, I'll have some food brought to you, and you can catch up on the news broadcasts."

"Later, then." I agreed.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

When my food was brought to me, I found that I was ravenous. It felt like I hadn't eaten in a year. Of course I probably _hadn't_ eaten since before we had gone to Cross Karokorum. Being unconscious, I had likely been given nutrition through an IV.

It turned out that while it hadn't been quite as long as a year, I had been completely unaware for more than three months. The news broadcasts were simultaneously informative, yet frustratingly unilluminating. Everything Dr. Raphael had told me was confirmed by the news reports, yet the information I truly wanted remained out of reach, my questions unanswered.

The Science Ninja Team had been saved the world. Berg Katse was dead. Galactor had been defeated. The Science Ninja Team had been disbanded. These data were known facts and repeated often. Yet I wasn't able to learn _how_ the Black Hole Operation had been stopped. _Why_ was everyone, apparently including Dr. Nambu and the rest of the Team, convinced that Galactor was gone? _How_ had Katse died, and _where_ was the proof of this statement? That purple freak had escaped certain death more than once before.

Most importantly, what had happened to the rest of the Team? We had gone to Cross Karokorum hoping to find Joe. I had thought I had heard his voice, but then the Galactors had attacked… had he survived? Dr. Nambu's prognosis had been grim, but still, perhaps if the others had found Joe, and managed to get him back to the God Phoenix… If anyone could have saved him, I knew it would be Hakase.

Ryu had surely survived. His strength and solid personality could see him through anything, He would have watched out for Jinpei, in my absence. I knew I could trust Ryu for that. My little brother _had_ to be safe.

And then there was Ken. My heart ached, thinking of him. How I had longed for us to be together! We had never spoken of it directly, even as we had sat back to back in the doomed wreckage of the Crescent Base, but once or twice he had left me with the impression that after the war was over… Well, now the war was over, or so the general public believed, and here I was: lying in a hospital bed, my body altered to such a great extent that I was no longer human.

In my heart, I knew that Ken had survived. Gatchaman would endure. He would always be there… for the world, and for me. A silent tear slipped down my face.

Wherever Ken was, I hoped that he would find happiness.

If only I could do the same…

88888

The following day I got out of bed. After three months of unconsciousness, I expected my muscles to be withered and weak. But contrary to all logic, they were strong and firm; I had no trouble standing under my own power. The difficulty lay in controlling these limbs. They didn't feel like they belonged to me, and I was unable to move them with the amount of force or precision I desired. I'm certain I must have looked a comical sight, arms and torso flailing as I attempted to take baby steps across my room. I hurtled my body into the opposite wall, unintentionally smashing out large chunks of plaster and sending a rain of grayish-white powder to the floor.

"It will take time." Dr. Raphael pronounced gravely. "You will work on regaining your control each day."

And I did. It wasn't like there was much else I could do, even had I wanted to. I now understood that I wasn't in any immediate danger, and I knew that I couldn't go back. As a cyborg, no one would trust me, nor would they trust Dr. Raphael. Even I wasn't entirely certain about the man. If I somehow managed to return to the ISO, Dr. Nambu would run a battery of tests. I would be debriefed endlessly, and even afterward, I would still be _different_. Ken and the others would never be able to accept me. I was of no use to them in this condition.

But I did have valuable information, both about Dr. Raphael, and his theories about Leader X's inevitable return. No matter what had happened to me, I still owed it to Hakase, and to my former teammates, to pass on everything I had learned. And so my only desire was to escape this place and contact Dr. Nambu. Yet before I could do that, I had to take back command of myself.

The finesse of body movement was something of which I had long been aware. Growing up under Dr. Nambu's fostering had taken me from a gawky pre-adolescent to a woman fluent in gymnastics and martial arts: someone who could perform the greatest feats with the smallest amount of movement. Efficiency had been our primary goal as we had trained for the Science Ninja Team. Wasted movements meant wasted energy, and a greater chance that our enemy would see us. Now I recalled these lessons as I labored to regain the effortless intricacies of action that had once been second nature.

And so my days began to fall into a routine. When I wasn't sleeping or eating, most of my time was spent training: rebuilding the muscle tissue I had lost, and re-learning how to use my body. At first, something as simple as walking was a challenge. My body wanted to accelerate from zero to sixty in the space of a millisecond. It took a great deal of effort to learn how to control my movements, both great and small. The day I was able to simply place my hand on the table, rather than slamming it down, felt like a triumph.

I had begun with walking and sitting, but I continued by working on arm and hand movements: from lifting and pulling, to softly pressing buttons on a control panel. Slowly, I learned the difference between bouncing lightly on the ground and jumping up to the ceiling, between walking and stomping. Once I had these 'basics' down, I moved onto more complex movement. The grace and skill I had formerly possessed were gone, but I was determined to regain them, no matter how long it took.

From the moment I became capable of walking and running, I began searching for an escape. As my aptitude expanded, I was brought out of my room and to a gym of sorts, where workout mats and specialized gymnastics-training equipment were located. I stretched and pulled my muscles, seeking to regain my former skills, then worked with the parallel bars, the vault and the balance beam. But even as my physical self focused on these tasks, my mind was occupied with finding a weakness in Dr. Raphael's security that I could exploit.

Frustratingly, it appeared that there were none. There were no windows, and I never saw any doors, save the ones that led to the gym, my room, and my bathroom. Surely there must have been others; I became convinced that there were secret doors hidden in the walls. I spent days going over every square centimeter of the three rooms that were my world, desperately searching for something, _anything_, that could possibly be an exit.

Yet there was nothing.

Well, that wasn't exactly right. There was _one_ avenue I hadn't explored. The corridor that took me to the gym continued onward. I was certain that there had to be _something_ down there.

Of course, the obvious solution would have been to simply run in that direction, given the first opportunity. And I had tried… and failed. I had attempted to make a break for this perceived freedom on a number of occasions, but each time I had been repelled by the nurses who had been accompanying me. I quickly came to realize that Dr. Raphael had enhanced their physical abilities as well. Although none of them were individually as strong as I was, in a group they were perfectly capable of restraining me. At first, I was surprised to see them acting with this degree of speed and force, but I later came to learn that their surgery had not been nearly as extensive as mine, and so they had adjusted to their new bodies much faster than I was doing.

Yet I was continuing to adjust. Each day I improved, moving faster, gaining more control, and recovering the grace and agility I had lost. My fighting skills had returned to me after a month of this intensive program, and after two months I was moving so fast, and with such precision, that I stunned even myself. Needless to say, as my abilities became more enhanced, my guards became stronger and more numerous.

One day I nearly laughed out loud, seeing a dozen men and women surrounding my door, waiting for me to exit my room and walk down the corridor to the gym. Some of the 'guards' had clearly been roped into the task last-minute. While half of the people present were clearly medical personnel, the others were dressed in casual attire, save one. One man, whom I had not seen before, wore a technician's uniform.

Around his waist was a tool belt.

How many times had I see men and women dressed in this fashion running around the Crescent Base, repairing equipment, control panels, even the God Phoenix and our G-Machines? I understood the importance of such personnel. But right now, I was more interested in what this man was carrying.

I did my best to appear casual, my gaze flipping past the man and over the other members of my guard, smiling casually at all of them. The 'regulars' knew me, and some even returned the small greeting. Yet I knew that they would all be ready to jump in the moment I attempted to do something that was 'unauthorized'. In fact, I was counting on it.

I varied my step, moving in a slightly different pattern than usual, my eyes searching out the weak spot in their 'defense net'. Spotting a small gap between two of the makeshift guards, I moved slowly, passing the spot, then spinning rapidly on the ball of my foot and kicking my way through the empty space.

My foot made it through; the rest of my body did not. Within seconds, the dozen guards were restraining me, forcing me to the floor and physically holding me down as I grunted and rolled, doing my best to get free of this crude, but effective, system of restraint. Although I was capable of movement, I was unable to dislodge their 'tackle attack'. After some time, I gradually ceased my struggles, capitulating to their desires. Shamefaced, I hung my head, seemingly incapable of meeting anyone in the eye. I was frog-marched down the corridor to the gym and unceremoniously thrown inside. The normally soft beep of the electronic lock on the whisker-reinforced door behind me echoed in my ears.

Silently, I got to my feet, quietly walking over to the workout mats and beginning my stretching routine. My humiliation was nothing; I had achieved my goal.

For in my sleeve was concealed a micron-enhanced electron screwdriver.

88888

The screwdriver was a useful tool, yet unfortunately it wasn't everything I needed. I spent about a week working on my mangled bracelet, recognizing that there was something else I required. My communicator's components were simply too tiny to hold with my fingers, but clearly a set of electron pliers was hardly forthcoming.

I began to make a small show of checking my appearance before I left my room, occasionally chatting with the nurses and bemoaning the lack of beauty supplies; attempting to form a female bond with at least one of my charges. This turned out to be much easier than I had expected. Apparently the inaccessibility of certain mundane items was a common conversational topic amongst Dr. Raphael's people. I lamented the state of my hair (which had been burned in back when I had been hit by the laser fire at Cross Karokorum) and my skin. I wished aloud for access to basic female primping accoutrements. And the female nurses commiserated with me. They helped me trim my hair to shoulder length, removing the scorched bits. They smuggled in moisturizers and a decent hairbrush. We discussed tricks to proper nail care with limited manicure resources.

Taking advantage of this situation, I carefully allowed one nurse to 'accidentally' hear my quiet plea for a pair of tweezers as I closely examined my eyebrows in the mirror one afternoon, and sure enough, a few days later, the requested item had been provided. I pushed aside my natural disgust that these people were so willing to believe that the Swan was an airheaded female only interested in her looks and simply took advantage of the gift I had been given. Sure enough, I tweezed my brows, showing them off to the obliging nurse, but those little tweezers also provided me with another vital tool I needed to begin repairing my bracelet.

Of course, with these simple accoutrements it was still going to be a long time before I was able to activate my bracelet, much less send out a signal. But I diligently spent a few hours each night on this task, desperately hoping that I would eventually be successful. The fact that this was taking weeks, after I had already been gone for nearly half a year, didn't bother me. After all, the war with Galactor was over, and I had all the time in the world.

Right?

Although to hear Dr. Raphael speak, it sounded like time was a precious resource. He seemed convinced that Leader X would return at any moment. Every few days he came to speak with me, pleased by the progress I was making in attaining control of my body, yet still frustrated with the overall pace of my development. Curiously, he never mentioned my attempts to escape, although surely he must have known.

In any case, I no longer attempted to get away. My purpose in doing so had been to contact Dr. Nambu, and now I understood that I was more likely to achieve that goal by fixing my bracelet and sending a signal. The nurses and guards who were sent to watch my movements grew more relaxed, and even somewhat friendly, each of them assuming that I had accepted my existence here in Dr. Raphael's lab as a matter of course.

To some extent, this was true. After all, what else did I have? I couldn't go back to the Science Ninja Team, not as some half-human hybrid: a monster of the sort we had only sought to defeat during the war. Even if I owed it to Dr. Nambu to inform him of Raphael's beliefs, I wasn't under any obligation to return to the Team now. Besides, the hurtful truth was… I knew they'd be better off without me.

It was with these thoughts on my mind that I entered the gym the following day. I had expanded my routine to include strength–training and cardiovascular exercises, improving my biological body and allowing my cybernetics to incorporate themselves into that physical growth and development. I knew that this was making me less human, but since I had given up on returning to a normal life, I did my best to push any regretful feelings aside.

I moved quickly through my warm-up routine, then approached the weight-lifting machine. Automatically I sat down, placing my legs on the device to begin working the muscles on the lower half of my body. But when I went to push against the resistance, I discovered that I could barely move my feet. My calves strained and trembled, and sweat ran down my face as slowly I pushed the weights upward, then gradually lowered them. I didn't understand! I had done these exercises only yesterday, carefully checking the weights and setting the machine to my specifications.

Frustrated, I got up, moving over to examine the weights. Due to my cybernetic enhancements, my basic strength was more than that of the most accomplished human bodybuilder, and Dr. Raphael had apparently obtained custom weights far beyond normal limits. I had previously set the weights to three hundred kilos, which was straining my legs only slightly.

Yet now the weights were set at five hundred kilos.

Was someone playing a joke on me? Whoever it was, I didn't find the situation funny. Carefully I reset the machine, removing the extraneous two hundred kilos. I was about to sit down again when on a sudden impulse I checked the arm weights. Only the day before I had moved up on these exercises, and had begun bench-pressing two hundred kilos.

Now it was set to three hundred and fifty.

My irritation quickly dissipated, only to be replaced by an intense curiosity. This _wasn't_ a joke.

Quietly I adjusted the machine back to my settings, then sat down and began my workout once more. Yet even as I exercised my physical body, my mind was working overtime, attempting to make sense of this information. The nurses and other personnel here were all 'enhanced' in some way, as far as I could tell, save for Dr. Raphael himself. Yet none of them had been involved in surgeries as extensively as I had, and none of them individually were as strong as I was.

_There was someone else._

I couldn't think of any other explanation. I was the only person who used these facilities. At least, I was _supposed_ to be the only person who used these facilities. And even if, for some reason, one of the other personnel had exercised on this equipment, they should be using _less_ weight than I did, not more. The only other possibility I could think of was that there was another person, like myself, who was being trained for Dr. Raphael's purposes.

At first, I was shocked by this notion, but when I thought about it, it didn't seem so surprising. Dr. Raphael wasn't exactly one to reveal his motives, or lay all of his cards on the table. For all I knew, he had many goals, and defending against Leader X's return was only one of them. It made sense that he might be creating a series of 'specialist' cyborgs to attain his various objectives. Of course, I could never ask the Doctor about these objectives. The only person who might give me further insight was this other 'specialist' cyborg… if he or she even existed at all.

Outwardly, I gave no sign that I had noticed anything amiss, and returned to my room quietly. I wasn't entirely certain what to do with my new information, and so I let it stew in the back of my mind while I concentrated on my other goal.

I had nearly finished fixing my bracelet.

It hadn't been easy working on the communication device embedded in the faceplate, and I had had some difficulty even diagnosing the problem. I recalled that while the transformation feature of the bracelet was highly complex, the transmission function was relatively standard, albeit equipped with a 'reset' function that could even self-repair. It was this reset function that had allowed me to obtain some functionality with my bracelet. The faceplate had been scorched by laser fire, and many of its components had fused together. Given enough time, the system could create appropriate bypasses, but first the reset had had to be initialized. I had achieved this feat a few days prior, and each night I eagerly examined my bracelet for signs of restoration. The transmission system, being the simplest function of the bracelet, was likely to be the first procedure I could expect to attempt.

That night, after my evening meal, I pulled out the bracelet. To my delight, the red light on the faceplate was lit up. I could hardly contain my excitement, but did my best to remain calm. Gently, I pressed the faceplate, initiating a 'home transmission', which was the default setting for that system. Without further instruction, the Science Ninja Team bracelets were always set to connect to Dr. Nambu's communications port.

I held my breath as I heard the familiar soft chime, indicating that the bracelet was activating. It was taking longer than it should, but then, perhaps it was simply working its way around the newly-created bypasses?

"Dr. Nambu…" I said quietly into the bracelet. "This is G-3, contacting Dr. Nambu…"

Yet there was no answer.

Was it working? I couldn't tell. Carefully, I initiated a 'ping' command. The results of my request were clear.

My signal was being blocked.

I sighed in frustration. It appeared that my bracelet was functioning the way I had expected. Unfortunately, I hadn't anticipated a dampening field getting in the way of my transmission. Damn that Raphael! He had neatly constrained my best means of communication with the ISO.

Tears of disappointment welled up in my eyes, but I angrily forced them back. I had worked toward this goal for weeks, but it wasn't all in vain. If Dr. Raphael wanted me to fight against Leader X, then he had to release me eventually. And once I was out of this place, I would finally be able to contact Dr. Nambu.

Still, this was of small comfort as I lay there in my de facto prison cell. I rolled onto my side, closing my eyes and willing myself to fall asleep. However, it seemed that sleep was not to be had, as only a few moments later, Dr. Raphael burst into my room, announcing his presence with a shout.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?"

I turned, astonished. I hadn't seen him this angry since I had attempted suicide months before.

"I'm not certain what…"

"You damned well know 'what'! You tried to communicate with the ISO!"

I could hardly deny it, but I certainly wasn't going to apologize. It was my duty to inform Dr. Nambu of any potential threat, whether I was still on the Science Ninja Team, or not.

"You ungrateful bitch!" Raphael raged, his usually distant demeanor torn to shreds by his fury. "I've taken you from Death's door to a new body, trained you, enhanced your capabilities… and for what? So you can tell your precious ISO where to find me? So I can be…" My mouth fell open. The expression on his face wasn't merely angry, it was… fearful. Instinctively, I guessed at the reason.

"So you can be… found?"

Raphael's scowl was my answer.

"You don't want to be found…." I said slowly, "because you worked for Galactor?"

"That fool Anderson doesn't understand!" Raphael spat. "That self-righteous bastard can't see any shades of grey. He assumes that because I worked for Galactor in the past, I serve them still. He doesn't understand that allegiances can change… and for good reason!" A feeling of shame passed though me. The Doctor had a point, and I could understand why he felt the way he did.

"I wasn't intending to speak with Director Anderson." I admitted. "I wanted to talk with Dr. Nambu. He deserves to know about your theory that Leader X will return… he deserves a chance to prepare as much as I do."

"You don't want to rejoin your precious Science Ninja Team?" Raphael asked sarcastically.

"No…" I whispered. I could see the Doctor's expression of disbelief, and I hurried to explain. "I… I don't belong there. Not like… this. But they deserve to know."

"Well, it's _something_, at least." he muttered, his former fury now dialed back down to a mild irritation. "But still, you need to think through your actions, girl! Even if you weren't intending it, the location of this base could be traced through a signal such as yours! And it might not even be the ISO that's doing the tracing."

"Not the ISO?" I queried. "Who else might care? Galactor is gone…"

"Galactor is _not_ gone!" Raphael hissed. "They're regrouping. They know as well as I do that X will return. That their organization will rise again. _This_ is why I need you out in the field! But how can I send you out there when I can't trust you not to run back to the ISO?" He glared at me, his bushy brows bristling with indignation. I stared back calmly, knowing that he was right. If he released me, for whatever reason, the first thing I would do would be to contact Dr. Nambu. But as for going back… I wasn't comfortable with that idea. I didn't want to face the others… face _Ken_… in this half-human form. Still, I desperately wished to talk over these matters with Dr. Nambu. I had always trusted him with this kind of dilemma, and he had been the closest thing I had ever had to a father. There was no doubt in my mind that the right thing to do would be to contact Hakase.

"If only you could be more like…"

My head jerked up as the Doctor's quiet muttering jolted me away from my thoughts. What had he said?

"If only I could be more like… who?"

"Like I thought you would be!" Raphael snapped, but I definitely got the impression that he was covering for an unintended slip. "I would never have invested my time and energy in you if I had imagined for one moment that you would give me this kind of trouble…"

"I suspect that anyone in my position would do the same."

His mouth opened, as if to say something to refute my statement, but then closed abruptly. He shook his finger sharply in my direction, then turned and stormed out of the room without another word. The door closed behind him, and it was only then that I let out a long sigh of relief.

What the heck had just happened?


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

My primary plan had come to naught, and so I began thinking again about the mystery of the gym weights. I was still convinced that the most likely explanation was that Dr. Raphael was training another 'specialist'… perhaps more than one. The Doctor's unintended slip the night I had unsuccessfully attempted to contact Dr. Nambu had only further convinced me of this. I needed answers… and perhaps this other person, or persons, could provide them. With that in mind, I turned my energies to attempting to make contact.

In the end, I went with the simplest idea. I wrote a small note on a slip of paper:

You are not alone.

I figured that if there were someone else being trained as I was, they would understand the message, and if one of Raphael's personnel should find it, I could easily explain it away. The following morning I slipped it into a crack in the rubber handles of the pull bar on the strength-training machine. A person with a normal sense of touch would never find it, but someone with enhanced abilities, such as I possessed… that was another story. I would have liked to have left the message in a place where it was more likely to be found, but I didn't want to risk one of Dr. Raphael's personnel discovering it. I only had one shot at this, and I didn't want to mess it up, the way I had my sole attempt at communicating with Dr. Nambu.

I could only cross my fingers and hope that my simplistic plan would work.

88888

_I was staring at Ken._

_He turned to face me, his face so beautiful it almost hurt to look at it. His blue eyes lit up as he caught sight of me, and I could see a smile come to his lips._

"_Jun, it's good to…" but his words died, even as he spoke them, and his expression quickly changed to one of revulsion._

"_What have you become?" he accused. "A machine? Something straight out of Galactor's playbook? A cyborg? You're… you're not even human!"_

"_I'm still me, Ken!" I protested, tears in my eyes. "I'm still me, inside…"_

"_Stay away from me!" he demanded, turning his back on me. "Don't contaminate me with your Galactor filth! We don't need your kind here."_

"_My kind?" I asked, my heart breaking._

"_I know what you did to survive, Jun." he stated coldly. "For you to survive, to become a cyborg, you sold out, didn't you? You betrayed us: sold our secrets to the enemy!"_

"_No…" I sobbed. "Ken, I would never…"_

_But he walked away, his footsteps echoing inside my soul…_

I was yanked out of my nightmare and back to reality by the press of a hand against my mouth. Pure instinct took over and I thrust my legs upward, simultaneously throwing off the sheets and somersaulting backward. My feet struck the wall over my head and pushed back, as I reached up behind my head and grabbed at my assailant. I used the momentum from my lower body to help propel my upper, throwing my attacker onto the floor.

At least, that's what was supposed to happen. I got my feet over my head, and pushed against the wall… but my arms didn't budge. They were being held in a grip even stronger than my own.

My eyes widened and my brain cleared in a rush. My enhanced vision made out the face of my opponent in the dark. He saw the recognition in my eyes, and his hands slipped away from my body.

"Joe?"

"What the hell are you doing here, Jun?"

"What are _you_ doing here?" I countered, my mind warring with itself. A large part of me was very glad to see Joe: someone whom I knew and trusted with my life. But another part of me was horrified by the knowledge that he was about to discover the terrible truth.

"You first." he said, pulling over a chair to sit next to my bed.

"I… I can't go back, Joe." I admitted. "You came because Hakase somehow received my signal and was able to trace it… didn't you? But I can't go back…"

"Why can't you go back, Jun?" Joe asked, his voice very tight. I grimaced, and tears pricked at my eyelids. I took a deep breath, knowing that I needed to plunge into this headfirst, lest I lose my nerve.

"I'm not human anymore." I revealed, turning away so I couldn't see the disgust I knew had to be written all over his face. "I'm… Dr. Raphael made me into a cyborg. I'm not fit to be on the Team…" I screwed my eyes up tightly, pulling my knees to my chest and hugging them to myself. I bent my head, attempting to pull myself out of this horrible reality that had led to betraying a trusted friend.

Joe began to laugh.

It was a strange sound: almost as if it were rusty with disuse. That was hardly surprising, as Joe had never been one for humorous banter, but my mind boggled. Did he think I was joking?

"Joe, I'm serious…"

He only laughed harder. I felt his hands pulling at mine again, turning me around to face him. He gazed intently at me, and I could see a self-mocking expression behind his eyes.

"You left the note."

"Yes, but… how did you know about that?"

"Because I'm the one who found it."

"How did you…?" The sudden realization burst through my mind. "Oh, Joe…"

"Dr. Raphael took me too." Joe confirmed. "Only… he never told me about _you_. And I'm guessing he didn't tell you about _me_ either."

"No." I shook my head, but then another thought occurred to me. "How did you get in here?"

"I used my passcode." Joe shrugged. "Apparently it works everywhere except Raphael's private office."

"You have a passcode?" My mouth fell open.

"Don't…? Well, clearly you don't, or you wouldn't be so surprised." Joe replied. "What's relegated you to second-class status? I thought everyone was free to walk around here."

"You're not locked up?" I asked bitterly. "I've been trying to escape and contact Dr. Nambu for months, and here you are just walking around like you own the place? What the hell is going on?"

"You've been trying to escape? Jun…" I could hear the reprimand in his voice. Instinctively I cringed, but then I realized what he was saying.

"Of course I've been trying to escape!" I retorted. "How else am I supposed to contact Hakase; to let him know that X is likely to return to Earth, and that Galactor hasn't been defeated?"

"He already knows."

"How can you be so certain? Have you spoken with him?"

"No, but he's a sharp guy. He'll figure it out."

"But you're not certain."

"He figured it out the first time, didn't he?"

I didn't really have a response for that, but I was still somehow offended that Joe, who had the opportunity, was choosing not to escape, while I was boxed into two rooms and the gym like a prisoner.

"Jun…" he sighed, running his hands through his hair. "I never thought I'd see any of you again, and now, here I am having this conversation with you…"

"I know." I sympathized, pulling myself into a sitting position and placing my hand on his shoulder. He looked up at me, our eyes meeting in a common understanding.

"I guess you do." he admitted. "It's good to see you, though. I thought you were dead…"

"I wasn't sure about you." I replied. "You were so ill before… But I assumed that the others had gotten you back to the God Phoenix, and I knew that if anyone could save you, it would be Dr. Nambu."

"No." Joe disagreed. "Dr. Nambu couldn't have saved me. He all but said that before. Dr. Raphael was the one who put me back together. I'm not sure I'd call it 'saving', though." He stared at his hands in disgust.

"You're alive, and you're talking to me." I reminded him. "That's worth something, isn't it?"

"But I'm still dead." Joe replied, and the look in his eyes echoed his grim words. "I can't go back, so as far as everyone else is concerned, I'm gone. They can never know… Don't you see, Jun? You must have some idea, because you didn't want to go back either. That's why I can't contact Hakase. If he knew… it would be more than I could bear." I saw how much it cost Joe to admit that, and my heart went out to him. I slipped my arms around him, placing my head on his shoulder.

"I'm dead too." I whispered quietly. "I can't go back… but if you want, I'll stay with you, Joe. It would be good to have someone… someone who understands."

"I…" His breathing was harsh and full of pain, as if he was going through some inner agony I couldn't see. His hands covered mine, squeezing gently. We sat that way for a long time, eventually merging our breaths, and even the rhythm of our heartbeats. I let him know in every way possible that we were the same… the same kind of living dead.

Eventually he pulled away slightly, looking me over.

"You look as healthy as ever." he observed wryly.

"As healthy as you are, I'm sure." I retorted. "Pretty good for two people who are both dead."

"I'm still amazed you're here." Joe acknowledged. "I thought I had killed you."

"You? Why would you have killed me?"

"At Karokorum."

"I didn't even see you at Karokorum. But I thought I heard your voice…"

"You did. You were running in my direction, and those Galactors overtook you. I wanted to tell you that they knew about our bracelets, but I couldn't… and then, they shot your bracelet. It was a direct hit."

"I remember that." I rubbed my wrist instinctively, where the laser fire had seared my skin.

"You transformed out of Birdstyle. I threw my last shuriken, but it wasn't enough to help you…. they shot you in the back." Joe's voice was strained. "I saw you fall… and then the Earth moved again, and you were gone…"

"I don't remember anything between being shot and waking up here. But Dr. Raphael said something about having to completely reconstruct my spine, and a lot of my nervous system."

"A while later, I heard Ken nearby." Joe continued on blankly, as if he hadn't heard my words. "I used the last of my strength to call out to him, and he heard… he heard… I showed him where the entrance was to the base, and he, Jinpei and Ryu went inside… I think I blacked out after that. I woke up here."

"They just _left you_?" I was outraged.

"They had to." Joe replied calmly. "There was no time to get me to the God Phoenix. The Black Hole Plan was coming to its conclusion. The Earth was about to end…"

"They could have brought you with them!" I insisted.

"No." Joe disagreed. "Ken did the right thing. I would have been a liability. Clearly he made the right decision, because the Black Hole Plan was stopped. Galactor was defeated."

"That's what the news reports say." I replied. "But if that's true, Dr. Raphael wouldn't be so eager to train us to defeat X."

"Galactor is down for now, but they'll be back." Joe concurred.

"Do you trust Dr. Raphael?" I asked. "I'm never quite certain what to make of him."

"I don't think he holds any personal attachments." Joe noted. "We're used to Dr. Nambu, who always thought about us as people, even when he had to order us into a bad situation. Dr. Raphael doesn't have that… for anyone, as far as I can tell. But… he seems to be solid in his convictions. I think he genuinely believes that X will return. He truly wants us to stop him." I nodded in agreement. I had sensed that as well. The Doctor's passions ran strong, and Leader X was certainly something he was passionate about.

"I believe he tells me the truth." Joe went on. "But I'm fairly sure he hasn't revealed everything to me either."

"Did he tell you that he used to work for Galactor?"

"Yeah. I guess he was with them in the early stages, until he realized just what his cyborgs were being asked to do. When he disagreed, they imprisoned him."

"That's what he told me as well." I confirmed. "At least he's consistent. That fits with your theory that he is telling the truth… with what he _does_ say. He told me that he escaped from Galactor Headquarters when the earthquakes of the Black Hole Plan damaged his cell. Apparently he crawled out and found me, taking me with him to this place…"

"Except he didn't just find _you_." Joe added. "I guess it makes sense. We probably weren't that far away from each other."

"I still wonder why he didn't tell me that you were here."

"We'll just have to ask him."

"Ask him? Are you crazy?"

"What's he going to do to us?" Joe laughed self-deprecatingly. "He needs us. We're his tools to defeat Leader X. He wouldn't have invested all of these resources into us otherwise. Besides, I've never seen the guy so much as twitch an eyebrow. He's got a poker face."

"Maybe for you." I muttered, disgruntled. "It seems you're Golden Boy around here. He sure likes to yell at me."

"Why does he yell at you?"

"Oh, little stuff." I shrugged. "Like, the other night he was furious because I tried to contact Hakase."

"Oh. So, it's not like you did anything to provoke him."

"Jerk!" I pushed at his arm, but we both knew that I wasn't truly angry. It was nice, being here with Joe. In a way, it was almost like old times… well, more like a _memory_ of old times. Being with Joe was comforting in a way I could never have imagined. My mind had hungered for this kind of personal contact… it was only now that I realized how much.

We continued talking for a long time (my internal chronometer suggested that it was a couple of hours) before sleep claimed me once more. But this time, Joe was sitting in the chair next to me, and my rest was undisturbed by nightmares.

88888

A loud crash tore me from my rest and I jerked awake, only to see one of my regular nurses staring at me in utter shock.

Not staring at _me_… Staring at _us_. Joe was still next to me, and he was assessing the nurse with a sardonic grin.

"Good morning, Peggy." he said, in slightly amused tone.

"Joe…" Peggy's face was as white as a sheet. "What are you doing here?"

"Is there a reason I shouldn't be here?" Joe asked.

"Uh…" Peggy turned and fled from the room. I nearly laughed out loud at the expression on her face, but caught myself just in time.

"I guess we're going to have a visitor shortly." I murmured. "I suppose I should get dressed." Not surprisingly, Dr. Raphael entered my room not five minutes later, just as I was emerging from the bathroom.

"What are you doing here, Joe?" Raphael asked, his voice strained.

"I thought I was free to go where I wanted?" Joe answered with a question. "You told me that the only place forbidden to me was your lab."

"Well, yes, but you weren't supposed to go…"

"You never mentioned any other place." Joe added, nonplussed.

"In fact, you never mentioned Joe at all." I reminded the Doctor. "Funny, how that seemed to have slipped you mind."

"You weren't supposed to know about each other." Raphael admitted, with a trace of bitterness. "But I can see that your curiosity has ruined my plans, Joe!"

"And what plans were those?" I stepped in front of Joe, demanding answers.

"You know what I want! To eliminate Leader X!" the Doctor growled.

"So how does my being here ruin that?" Joe asked. Outwardly, he appeared to be much more calm than I was, but years of experience with his moods had taught me otherwise. There was just a little too much control in his demeanor, indicating that he was far from indifferent about this matter.

"You should understand this, having been a part of the Science Ninja Team." Dr. Raphael lectured. "It's never a good idea to have your primary and your backup in the same place."

"Primary?" I sputtered in surprise. "Backup?"

"Yes." Raphael smiled thinly, pleased at having been able to turn the tables on us. "One of you has been designated as the primary unit to take out Leader X. But should the primary fail…"

"There's a backup." I acknowledged. "Just like in a data system."

"And as you should know, as the systems expert you are supposed to be, that it is never a good idea to have your primary and your backup in the same place, lest disaster strike them both down with one blow." The Doctor's eyes bored into me.

"Which one of us is the primary?" Joe raised an eyebrow in a questioning manner. I whirled to look at him. This was something that hadn't even crossed my mind.

"You are, of course." Raphael answered somewhat smugly. "At first, I had thought to use Jun, as her injuries were less extensive than yours, but her defiant behavior and lack of compliance quickly brought me to my senses."

"Defiant behavior?" I huffed indignantly. "You're keeping me a prisoner, here!"

"See what I mean?" The Doctor didn't roll his eyes, but I could hear it in the tone of his voice. My hands clenched into fists, but I didn't say anything further.

"Listen," Joe said, placing a hand on my arm in a calming gesture, "suppose I take responsibility for her?"

"What?" Was I to be treated like some kind of errant child?

"I'm not sure that would be a good idea…" Raphael replied, ignoring my outburst.

"Jun and I now know that the other is here." Joe pointed out. "We've been trained to work together. We'll be more effective as a team."

"There is some merit to that line of reasoning." the Doctor admitted reluctantly. "But…"

"But, nothing." Joe refuted the argument before it was even uttered. "I outrank her. I did on the Science Ninja Team, and as 'primary', I do now as well. I'll take responsibility for her actions and ensure that she no longer attempts to escape, or to contact Dr. Nambu regarding your activities."

Dr. Raphael pondered this, his dark eyes analyzing me from under his bushy eyebrows.

"You can guarantee this?" he asked. "That her insolent behavior will cease?" My fingers began to itch for my yo-yo, but I bit my tongue. I understood what Joe was doing, but it was still frustrating, all the same.

Joe did not respond verbally, but simply nodded his head in a curt gesture. The Doctor threw up his hands in the air.

"Aaaah! Fine! We will try! But if there is even _one_ more incident…"

"There won't be." Joe assured him. Raphael grimaced, but turned to leave.

"One thing, though." Joe added casually, as soon as the Doctor's back was turned. "She'll need a passcode."

"Her? But she's already…" Dr. Raphael's protests died as he looked at Joe's expression. "Fine. But this is all on _your_ head."

"I made a promise." Joe reminded him.

"And you had better keep it." the Doctor threatened.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Thanks, Joe." I said quietly, as soon as Dr. Raphael was gone. The numbers for my new personalized passcode bounced around in my head, and I reveled in the tiny bit of freedom it offered. Breakfast for two had been delivered, and I sat down at the table to eat.

"You're going to do what I said." Joe ordered as he joined me. "I wasn't kidding when I said I'd take responsibility for you. No more escape attempts, or trying to give away Dr. Raphael's location by contacting Hakase."

"Why are you so accepting of this?" I asked, more curious than angry. "Don't you want to leave too?"

"What else have I got?" Joe answered my question with one of his own. "I can't go back to the Team, and Galactor is still a threat. At least this way, I can be useful. I know Raphael has his own motivations, but for the moment, they fit with mine. You can trust that I'd be singing a different tune if I didn't respect the man."

"_Respect_ him?"

"Think about it. The guy is brilliant. He got trapped into working for Galactor, but stood by his principles. All he got for it was imprisonment, but he didn't back down. When he had the opportunity, he escaped and ever since he's been devoted to bringing them down, in his own way. Sure, he doesn't want the ISO to find him. He's a former Galactor operative. The very least they'd do is subject him to intense debriefing. He wants to work on his own, without all of their rules and restrictions." Joe's expression was almost wistful. The way he explained Dr. Raphael's situation, I could understand why Joe had a higher opinion of the man than I did.

"The only reason he's being so hard on you is because you keep trying to leave." Joe pointed out. "Do you mind telling me _where_ you were going to go?"

"To Hakase, of course…"

"And what would he do when you got there?" Joe asked harshly. "He'd subject you to a bunch of tests and isolate you. He might not even believe anything you have to say. Trust me, I know."

"I guess you do." I admitted, recalling Joe's secretive attitude toward the mysterious brain illness that had nearly killed him.

"If he did believe you, he'd want you back on the Team." Joe added. "And we both know that isn't going to happen."

"No, you're right." I replied. "But I still can't help feeling that Dr. Nambu needs to be warned."

"We'll find a way to warn him." Joe assured me. "One that doesn't harm Dr. Raphael, or reveal our location either."

"You sure are making a lot of promises today." I smiled.

"I'm getting a lot for it."

"Like what?"

"Like you."

"_Me_?"

"Neither of us has to be alone anymore." he whispered, so quietly that I wouldn't have heard him, had it not been for my cybernetically enhanced hearing. I didn't say anything, but merely reached out to hold him in my arms, joining with him in his sense of shared isolation.

88888

The first thing Joe did after breakfast was to give me a tour of Dr. Raphael's compound. He knew all of the personnel on sight, yet I noticed that they gave him a wide berth. The few who recognized me were friendly, but reserved. I guess they were still getting used to the change in my status that allowed me to move around freely.

Joe explained that the complex had once been the start of an underground Galactor base. Apparently a few of the personnel here were the base's former occupants, and had been happy to change allegiances after the failure of the Black Hole Plan. I was surprised to learn that there had been many such 'prototype bases' scattered around the planet, ready to develop for more specific needs as the occasion arose.

"But what if Galactor remembers that this base was here? Won't they come back to claim it?"

"The locations of these bases were closely guarded secrets, known only to Berg Katse and a few advisors. The men who constructed them were executed afterward, and the few who operated these skeleton complexes were never allowed to leave." Joe explained.

"How do you know all of this?" I asked.

"I asked." Joe shrugged. "People are pretty bored here, and most of them are willing to talk." It made sense. I was amazed by Joe's success at intelligence-gathering while I had only been involved in futile attempts at escape and reconstructing my bracelet.

"Apparently Dr. Raphael knew about this base, because a few years ago it had been offered to him as a cybernetic research center. Officially he turned down that 'generous' offer, because he had discovered what Galactor had been doing with his cyborgs. So the place went unused." I nodded, indicating that I understood.

"He started working on this place on the sly back then." Joe added. "In the past few months, Dr. Raphael has been altering this facility even further to meet his requirements. He told me that when he left Cross Karokorum, he took a transport vessel filled with the equipment he thought he'd need." Joe added.

"I gather we were along for the ride as well." I pointed out.

"Yeah." Joe acknowledged. "Not that either of us was in any position to remember it."

"So where are we?" I asked.

"I don't know." Joe admitted. "All I've been able to discern is that we're in the Northern Hemisphere. I can't even tell you the climate, because there's no access to the outside."

"But there has to be an exit." I continued with my train of thought. "Supplies have to be coming from somewhere. It's not like he just sealed us all in…"

"I think that's exactly what he might have done." Joe countered. "Food is grown underground in hydroponic gardens with artificial sunlight, and I guess we've been making use of a very large supply depot that was located on the premises. I've been told that it will last for years… not that we'll need it."

"Why not?"

"Dr. Raphael has already sent a team of cyborgs off to create another base. Perhaps two. He's understandably a little paranoid of either Galactor or the ISO finding him, and the rumor is that he wants multiple backup locations to retreat to, in case of trouble."

"Where's he getting his funding?"

"That's a good question." Joe mused. "I hadn't thought of that one. He'd have to be buying supplies for these other bases… I'm not certain."

"Perhaps Galactor paid him well, when he was working for them?" I thought out loud. "Or maybe now that they're in disarray, he's been able to appropriate some of their funds."

"Regardless, he knows what he's doing." Joe replied. "Everyone here has had some cybernetic enhancements. He's done the most work on me… and on you, I guess… because of the injuries I had when he brought me here."

"What kind of injuries?" I asked. "I know there was the shrapnel in your brain…"

"I was Katse's prisoner." Joe said bitterly. "He knew who I was. He wasn't exactly 'gentle' with me."

"Oh." I looked away, silently berating myself for reminding Joe of this painful experience.

"Apparently Dr. Raphael took nearly a hundred bullets out of my body." Joe revealed suddenly. "Not that you could tell now." He held up an arm covered with firm muscles and smooth skin.

"How much of you is…?" I wanted to say 'real', but I couldn't bear the implications of the word. Yet Joe somehow understood.

"Most of my skin isn't mine." he shrugged. "I guess he enhanced my nervous system, and he was able to rebuild my brain. I know that whatever he did, I'm stronger and faster now. I can see and hear better than before. And no more headaches or dizziness." This last was accompanied with a wry smile.

"I'm pretty sure my skin is the same… mostly." I revealed. "But he told me that he had completely replaced the main components of my skeletal structure. I guess my spinal column was pretty much destroyed when I was hit by that laser fire. So my nervous system has been rebuilt too. I can see and hear better as well, and I'm faster and stronger… but not as strong as you are, apparently."

"Hmmm?"

"Bench-pressing three hundred and fifty kilos?"

"I was testing myself." His tone was serious, but I could see a grin attempting to escape at the corner of his mouth.

"I'm barely over two hundred." I admitted.

"You'll get there." he assured me in a condescending manner.

"I am so looking forward to sparring with you again, Mr. Overconfident."

"We'll see who's overconfident."

And we did. After lunch, we went to the gym together, and after a few warm-up exercises, we began the intricate dance of our katas. I hadn't performed these maneuvers since I had last trained in the practice room at Hakase's villa, shortly before our final mission, yet the movements were so deeply ingrained that they came back to me naturally. Joe and I were completely in sync with each step, each turn, each flex of our muscles. It was no wonder: we had learned together at an early age, after all.

Yet both of us were clearly eager to practice our fighting moves with the other. It had been nearly half a year since we had sparred, but our bodies remembered the moves, even in their altered state. Attacking, blocking, offensive and defensive maneuvers…. all of it came back to me, and much faster than I had expected. It was almost as if I had never stopped working at these skills.

Yet there were differences. As precise, as fast, as I had been before, these abilities were now multiplied beyond belief. The grace and finesse I had struggled to regain had come back in full force, and more. A small portion of my mind stood back, amazed at what I was now able to accomplish. As soon as the thought crossed my mind, I knew that Joe would take this distraction as an opening for attack. And yet he didn't.

Was he feeling the same thing that I was?

On and on we fought, never getting tired, never resting, simply engaging in the byplay of back and forth, attack and defense. Once in awhile our eyes met, and in Joe's unguarded gaze I saw the joy I was experiencing reflected there. _This_ was something we were used to: something we were designed for. No member of the Science Ninja Team had ever enjoyed the repetitive exercises we had gone through to develop our gymnastic or physical skills. It was the application of all of these lessons that fired us, and now Joe and I were both caught up in the thrall of something we had once taken for granted.

In the end, we both simply agreed to stop, catching each other's gaze and bowing respectfully before stepping away. I raised my body to a standing position, feeling the pleasant ache that came from working with muscles that had not seen significant use in far too long. I looked up at the ceiling, threw my arms wide and laughed, letting the pleasure bubble out of me as if I were a cold, fizzy soda on a hot summer's day.

Joe simply stood there, but when I brought my head back down, I could tell that he was pleased too. His posture was more relaxed than I had seen in a year, and he was staring at his hands in amazement.

"I could never have imagined this…" he said quietly, more to himself than to me.

"But it feels wonderful." I murmured, for the first time truly appreciating what Dr. Raphael had done for me.

"You were a bit sloppy." Joe pointed out. "You left openings."

"I'm not the only one." I grinned, not the least put out by the criticism. "But we weren't really looking for a competition today, were we?"

"No." he agreed. "I think we just needed to move."

"I hadn't realized how much I missed this."

"Me either. I didn't think… We spent so long, working as a team. It seems _right_ somehow…"

"We weren't trained to be solo agents." I reminded him softly.

"That was Raphael's mistake." he concurred. "He wanted us to work on our own. But together, we'll be better."

"We can back each other up."

"We know each other's moves and strengths. We're a good complement to each other." He looked up, smiling broadly: an expression I wasn't used to seeing on Joe's face.

"We're a force to be reckoned with." he concluded.

I nodded in agreement, but slowly. Yes, we worked better as a team… but our team was incomplete. Suddenly, I missed Ken, Ryu and Jinpei more than ever. Especially Ken. At a session like this, he would have gone over our strengths and weaknesses with us, pointing out areas for praise or improvement. He was our leader, and he was the person we looked to for both guidance and approval.

Now I had only Joe.

An ache of loneliness filled me, and I had to look down at my feet. Dr. Raphael had done everything for me… and yet, he had taken everything away, as well.

I sensed, rather than heard, Joe's approach, but the strong arms around me were not to be denied. My head fell to his shoulder and he stroked my hair as I wept for all that we had lost.

But we had not lost everything. We still had each other, and for that, I was extremely grateful.

88888

Of course, eventually the training routine, even the sparring, stagnated for us. It became dull without variation, and we did everything we could to spice it up. But after a few months, we had run out of ideas, and we were starting to go stir crazy. Even Joe, who had insisted that there was nothing to be gained by escaping, began casting longing glances at the ceiling, as if he wanted to burrow through it to the world outside.

Our restlessness was temporarily restrained when Joe came up with the idea of using our weapons. We had both had our ninja armaments returned to us, and so I had my yo-yo, and Joe had his cablegun, although he had run out of feather shuriken at Cross Karokorum. He substituted with light throwing knives. I never asked where he got them, but I suspected that Dr. Raphael had not been informed of this development. It was just one more secret that Joe and I shared.

Once we had regained our weapons, Joe and I spent hours every day re-learning their nuances and integrating them with our bodies' new capabilities. Throwing my yo-yo with a cybernetic arm was far different from the experience I had previously had with that weapon.

Dr. Raphael did understand that we needed opponents against which to hone our skills, and so he provided holographic simulations for us, filled with virtual enemies. Yet even that soon became tedious.

One day, Joe and I were sparring on the mats when he jumped into the air, easily somersaulting over my head and brushing against the five meter high ceiling. He landed with a dissatisfied grunt, his face etched in a familiar scowl.

"This isn't good enough!" he muttered angrily, launching his fist at the whisker-reinforced wall. A dent appeared in the metal surface, yet Joe barely winced. He turned around, practically throwing his back against the wall before crossing his arms and glowering at me.

"It's not even close to Birdstyle!" he spat.

"In Birdstyle, we could fly." I reminded him. "Our wings provided a great deal of lift, and we were able to glide with them. I don't care how many 'enhancements' Dr. Raphael gave us: they can't do what our Birdstyles did."

Joe simply scowled, bending his head slightly so that he was now glaring at the floor. It was clear that he was disgusted with my logic.

"But… what if we were able to use our Birdstyles again?" I asked. Joe's head snapped up, and I knew that I had gotten his attention.

"Our civilian uniforms must be around here somewhere." I continued slowly. "We were wearing them when we were brought to this place. Your bracelet should still be able to transform. Mine is in self-repair mode, but it's approaching the end of the cycle. Another week or two and I'll be able to try…"

"Wait."

Without another word he left the room, leaving me to stare at the door closing behind him. A few minutes later he returned, a pile of clothing in his arms.

Our uniforms.

"Where…?" I gasped, but Joe only smirked in his usual confident fashion.

"I knew where they were." he said casually, tossing my clothes to me. "I got my bracelet as well." I didn't answer. I was too absorbed looking at my t-shirt. I smoothed my hand over the pink number 3. It seemed a lifetime ago that I had last worn this… almost like it belonged to another person. It looked as fresh and as new as the first day I had seen it, not showing any sign of the serious injury I had suffered while wearing it at Cross Karokorum. In the back of my mind, I knew this was because Dr. Nambu had engineered these clothes to withstand anything and come out completely unscathed, but at that moment it seemed as if I was being gifted with these garments all over again.

My eyes flickered up, only to realize that Joe was in a state of undress. My cheeks burned as I caught sight of his body: tight, streamlined muscles covered by smooth, perfect skin. I swallowed nervously, glancing away, yet knowing that the image had been burned into my mind. It was a disconcerting feeling. I'd never looked at Joe that way before, and somehow I felt ashamed to be doing so now. Now Ken…

"Okay, let's try." Joe said, pulling me away from my thoughts. I looked up once more, only to see him dressed in his old number 2 shirt and jeans. I nodded quickly, doing a poor job of covering my shame of the moment before. But Joe was too absorbed in implementing my suggestion to notice my emotional state. He already had his bracelet on, and as I watched he swung his left wrist around in front of his face.

"Bird go!" he shouted.

Instinctively I shielded my gaze from the brilliant flash of white light that was created by the transformation. A swirl of colors appeared between the cracks of my fingers as I held my hand over my eyes. When the light's intensity began to fade, I looked again.

Joe stood before me, his ubiquitous brown and indigo uniform so familiar that it tugged at my emotions, simultaneously making me want to both laugh with joy and cry in anguish. I took a step toward him, watching in horror as he collapsed to his knees.

"Joe!" I cried, running over just in time to catch his head and shoulders before they hit the ground.

"Joe! What's wrong?" I asked frantically, cradling his head in my lap. His head thrashed back and forth, and his hands were clutching at the sides of his helmet, his face contorted in a grimace of excruciating pain. "Talk to me!"

"Can't…" His voice came out somewhere between a grunt and a groan, and I could see that whatever it was, this was getting worse.

"De-transform!" I told him, my voice sharp with command and reminiscent of Ken in one of his 'no-nonsense' moods. I could only hope that Joe heard me and instinctively obeyed that tone.

He must have, because I saw him struggling to control his arm. I reached down, grabbing his wrist and helping him move it in the correct form.

"B…bird…. go…" he gasped.

This time all I could do was turn my head to the side and squeeze my eyes shut. But when the transformation process began, it wasn't the light that bothered me. Pain shocked through me like a bolt of lightning, echoing through my bones as if it were a shout in an empty corridor. I wanted to cry out, but my voice was gone. I fell over, my ear hitting the mat, jostling Joe's head as my lap twisted and bounced. I gasped for air, feeling as if I was suffocating, until my head began to clear somewhat. I blinked, finally able to assess the aftermath of this terrifying reaction.

I lay on the floor mats, my left hand still grabbing at Joe's wrist, my right holding his shoulder in a death grip. His head had fallen onto one of my thighs, but he was completely still.

"Joe!"


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

An hour later, Joe's condition had barely changed. I sat, dumbfounded, at his bedside, holding his hand in a pathetic attempt to convince myself that I was doing something helpful. In reality, it was the nurses who were scurrying around, checking vital signs, reading data from various pieces of equipment, and reporting back to Dr. Raphael. The Doctor had appeared without his bird on his shoulder, and his face appeared even more stern than usual, scowling as he took in the information being brought to him. He had not said one word to me since he had arrived, instead receiving a report of what had happened from Nurse Peggy, who had been first to arrive on the scene after I had stumbled to the gym door and screamed for help. Inside, I was still screaming: screaming at the nurses to work faster, screaming at Dr. Raphael to do something… but mostly screaming at myself for being so stupid. How could I have suggested wearing Birdstyle to Joe? I couldn't possibly have foreseen what would happen, but I should have known that it wouldn't lead to anything good…

Dr. Raphael apparently shared the same opinion, because he continued to glare at me from across the room.

I turned my attention to Joe. I could see the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed in and out, but there were no signs of consciousness. His hand in mine felt limp and lifeless, and his pallor was grayish-yellow, as if his circulation were exceedingly sluggish. He was still wearing his civilian uniform, and I averted my eyes from the accusing number 2 emblazoned on his chest. Joe was my only link to my past, and the person who had saved my sanity these past few months. I felt terrible that my thoughtless comment had put him in this critical situation. But even more, the selfish part of my mind was angry with myself: that I had brought about my own downfall. If Joe didn't… if I had to be alone again, I would go crazy. Ever since I had woken up to discover that he was there, I had had someone… someone who understood both what I was going through, and how much it hurt to deny my own past. Someone with whom I could be honest and open, discussing this strange situation we found ourselves caught in, while at the same time knowing that whatever the future brought, we would endure it together.

What would I do without Joe?

In my state of mental anguish, it took me a moment to realize that someone was speaking to me.

"Huh?" I glanced up with a slack-jawed expression.

"What possessed him to consider initiating his transformation?" Dr. Raphael demanded.

"He wanted to use his new abilities in Birdstyle." I explained. "To see how well he could fly…"

"And I don't suppose you tried to talk him out of this foolish idea." Raphael glowered. My immediate flush was his answer.

"I thought not." he huffed. "What is it about your personality that always causes you to make the wrong choices? I thought that with Joe to guide you… but I see now that your influence even extends to him."

"No… I…" I was too distraught to form a coherent argument, especially when deep down, I agreed with the Doctor's assessment.

"Your transformation to Birdstyle apparently takes place at a frequency of 3,600 megahertz." Raphael intoned dryly. "This was at a higher level than I had anticipated for exposure. It was enough to overheat the resistors in his integrated circuits. You suffered from similar damage, but not nearly to the extent that Joe did." The blood drained from my face as I realized the extent of what I had done.

"So, you mean… when he de-transformed, it only made things worse?"

"Yes." the Doctor nodded curtly.

I buried my face in my hands. Was I destined to unknowingly destroy all of the people I loved? Ryu, Jinpei, Hakase, Ken…

And now Joe.

He could be dying, all because of me, and my terrible advice. Why did he listen to me? I was an idiot! A well-intentioned idiot, to be sure, but that hardly made a difference when life and death were hanging in the balance. I was so involved in my self-recrimination that I almost didn't hear what the Doctor was saying. But suddenly I jerked my head up, a lump appearing in my throat.

"Once he awakens…" Raphael was saying.

"He's going to awaken?" I gasped.

"Of course he is, you foolish girl!" the Doctor chided condescendingly. "I replaced his integrated circuits! Weren't you listening?" I swallowed back my shame at the insult. The most important thing was my intense relief that Joe would survive this ordeal.

"I did the same thing for you, while you were 'resting', after I had finished working on Joe." Raphael revealed. "And knowing now that you two will regularly subject yourselves to these high frequencies, I have altered the characteristics of these new circuits to handle this kind of stress."

"Regularly subject ourselves…?"

"Did you think I didn't know that you would want to revert to using your accustomed uniforms?" the Doctor shook his head in disbelief. "It astounds me how you assess my mental capacity. Have you no sense of intuition? Deductive reasoning skills?" I tuned out. I didn't need to hear any of this. What mattered was that Joe was going to be okay, and that this wouldn't happen again.

Eventually Dr. Raphael left, and Nurse Peggy assured me that Joe would awaken in his own time, probably during the night. Nurse Brian brought me some food, as well as a tray for Joe, so that he could have something once he regained consciousness. I thanked Brian gratefully for his thoughtfulness, then settled in for a long night.

A few months ago, Joe had slept in a chair at my bedside, and now our roles were reversed. I ate quickly, barely noticing what was in my mouth, then returned to my vigil. For a long time I held Joe's hand, watching him sleep. His face had a more natural color now, and something about its expression seemed more relaxed. The sharp, angled lines of his jaw and cheekbones somehow appeared softer… as if he was at peace.

"Rest, Joe." I whispered, gently laying my head down on his chest, still holding his hand in mine. My other hand brushed a few strands of hair from his forehead. His skin was warm, and I could feel the life beating underneath it.

"I'm glad you're here, with me." I yawned, closing my eyes.

"Jun…?"

What was that? Had I fallen asleep? I wasn't certain. I had the foggy haze of someone who had been close to unconsciousness. I thought I felt something on my hair, but then it wasn't there anymore. Had I imagined it?

I lifted my head groggily, blinking slowly, and suddenly I realized what it was.

"Joe, you're awake!" I grinned from ear to ear.

"What the hell happened?" he asked.

"When you transformed, it was too much for the resistors in your integrated circuits to handle." I went on to confess the rest of my shame, including how my order that he de-transform had actually caused him more pain, and me as well.

"I guess it's a good thing we found out about this now," Joe was Joe's only comment, "rather than in the field."

"Dr. Raphael said that he'd expected that we'd want to try our Birdstyles again." I revealed. "He's ensured that we won't experience this kind of reaction any more."

"Sounds good."

"Joe, I…" My eyes unexpectedly began to fill with tears. "I'm so sorry…"

"Sorry? About what?" I was still leaning on Joe's chest, but now he pulled himself up to a reclining position, grasping my shoulders in his hands.

"I shouldn't have mentioned our Birdstyles." I admitted. "And then I told you to de-transform… I _helped_ you do it… but it only made things worse."

"I would eventually have wanted to try it anyway." Joe shrugged with casual logic. "You were doing what you thought was best, at the time."

"But Joe, you could have died!" I cried, throwing myself onto his chest and burying my face into his shoulder. "And it would have been my fault! I could have…" A choking sound came from my throat, and I had a difficult time getting any further words out.

"That didn't happen." I felt a hand on my head, awkwardly stroking my hair. For a long moment, the silence was broken only by my quiet sobs.

"Joe… if you had died… I don't know how I would have gone on…" I whispered.

"The same as you did before." Joe assured me. "You're strong. You don't need anyone to survive."

But that wasn't true. I had become dependent upon Joe. He was my only link to my past, and one I had suddenly realized I couldn't live without.

88888

Dr. Raphael was true to his word. A few days later, Joe and I were introduced to our new training area. A massive metallic chamber nearly two hundred meters high, it appeared to have been constructed for use as a mecha hangar. There were no mats, no strength-training or gymnastic equipment, just a few weapons and a lot of empty space.

"Go to it." Raphael instructed us dryly. "There are holographic generators if you need them."

Joe didn't hesitate. He instantly swung his arm around in the old, familiar pattern, transforming right before the Doctor's eyes. Raphael appeared to be mildly impressed.

"It seems that this Dr. Nambu of yours has some degree of skill." the Doctor admitted.

"There are many fields of science." I replied. "And there are specialists in each of those fields." Dr. Raphael raised an eyebrow at me curiously.

"And why do you not transform?" he asked.

"My bracelet hasn't completely repaired itself yet." I admitted. "It was heavily damaged, and the self-repair cycle is likely to take another few days. Perhaps a week."

"The faceplate on my bracelet only suffered a small amount of damage." Joe explained. "And the self-repair cycle was set months before the same system was initiated on Jun's bracelet." My mouth fell open in surprise. I knew that Masaki and Oniishi had repaired Joe's bracelet enough to send out a transmission at Cross Karokorum, but I hadn't realized that they had set the self-repair cycle as well.

"Jun's faceplate was directly hit with a laser blast, and took much more damage." Joe continued. "Her bracelet is having to start from the ground up. All mine had to do was recreate a few connections and repair the strap."

"Your bracelets can repair their own straps?" Despite himself, Dr. Raphael sounded impressed.

"They're composed of silicon-uranitron fibers, with transformation circuits running their entire circumference." I elaborated. "This allows for a more complete distribution of the transformation field, but it also means that the straps themselves are a vital part of the transformation process. Naturally it would come under the self-repair unit's responsibility."

"It would seem that you know something after all, girl." Raphael replied condescendingly. "Imagine that. Amazingly, your information is quite useful. Understanding how the transformation process works will allow me to better adjust your cybernetics to deal with the process."

My returning smile was brittle, but I managed to bite my tongue and act as if I was pleased with the Doctor's backhanded compliment.

"But for now, you should be fine transforming once or twice each day." Raphael told us. "I'll schedule both of you for adjustments as soon as possible." With that, he departed the chamber, leaving us to ourselves.

"Damn, this feels good." Joe smirked. He jumped upward, flying toward the top of the tall chamber. He drew his cablegun, shooting it toward the wall, where it caught on a small overhang. He used its leverage and his momentum to swing himself up even further, then released the end of the gun. Joe pushed lightly off of the next portion of wall, twisting and somersaulting in midair, until eventually he had reached the ceiling. He perched himself comfortably up there, grinning cockily at me.

"Why don't you join me?" he called down. I was beginning to recall why Joe had irritated me years ago, the first time we had gone through training.

Without responding, I threw out my yo-yo. At maximum, it had a thirty meter reach, which was hardly enough to get me to the top of the ceiling. Instead, it attached somewhat further down, allowing me to pull myself up to an overhang. Clinging precariously to the wall, I threw out my weapon again, repeating the process. I'm sure I wasn't as graceful as Joe had been, nor was I as fast, but eventually I did manage to make my way up to where he sat, surveying my progress with an unreadable expression.

"We definitely need to get you back in Birdstyle." he commented, as I joined him on his perch. He shuffled over to make room for me on the small ledge. The massive hangar was shaped vaguely like a missile, and this small overhang appeared to be some kind of maintenance platform, presumably for the mecha that had been intended for this chamber.

"Why's that?" I asked, pushing my hair back from my face. It had gotten somewhat tangled as I had worked my way up there.

"It's much more fun watching you do that when you're flashing your panchira every few seconds." he replied blandly, as if he had said nothing untoward.

"Jerk!" I cried, pushing him off the ledge. Of course, rather than plummeting down to the floor, he simply glided to the ground, landing gracefully on two feet. I had a much bigger problem. Aiming carefully, I threw my yo-yo, swinging laboriously down from ledge to ledge, until I was about five meters above the floor. I dropped down, refusing to meet Joe's eyes. For some reason, his joking comment had bothered me more than I liked to admit, even to myself.

"I shouldn't have said that." Joe mumbled, leaning against the wall, his arms and ankles crossed. "I guess it was a little too 'Jinpei' of me."

I nodded. There certainly was some similarity between my irritation with what Joe had said, and the momentary annoyance I had always felt when Jinpei had thrown one of his many mocking slurs my way. Yet there was something different as well… Not wanting to acknowledge this, I pushed the feeling aside, focusing instead on something else.

"What do you think he's doing?" I asked. "Do you think he's running the Snack?"

"Probably." Joe shrugged. "Maybe he's even going to school."

"School…" I thought about the hell Jinpei would give his teachers, then pondered how Dr. Nambu would react. "I wonder if Hakase's pulling out his hair yet."

"With that kid? Most likely." Joe smirked. "I'll bet he's gone grey."

"Ryu's probably helping." I said. "If I can't be there to look after Jinpei, Ryu's the next person I'd choose. He was always like an older brother to Jinpei…" A sadness took hold of me, as I thought of the toddler I had 'adopted' and promised to take care of. Had I abandoned him by staying here?

"Hey, they're not dead." Joe reminded me. "And Jinpei's a big kid now. He can take care of himself."

"Yeah…" My response was reluctant. I wasn't truly convinced.

"I'll bet he hangs out with Ryu at his marina when he's not in school." Joe went on. "They always used to enjoy that."

"What do you think Ken's doing?" I asked suddenly. "Do you think he's actually able to make a go of his air delivery business now?"

"It doesn't matter how much money he makes. He'll never be able to pay off his tab at the Snack." Joe smirked.

"Ken's tab never bothered me so much…" I admitted. "Jinpei was the one who was always on him about paying up." I stopped speaking as I started thinking about Ken. The memory of him was painful and bittersweet, and I wasn't entirely certain I wanted to share this raw part of my soul with Joe, despite the fact that I had been the one who had brought his name into the conversation in the first place.

"I'm not sure he ever understood how much…" Joe paused for a moment, his eyes scanning my face, before I turned away. "How much he owed you."

We both knew that Joe had been thinking of something else, but I forced myself to pretend that his words were no more than they appeared on the surface.

"I'll bet Jinpei has sent him a full reckoning." I shrugged, feigning a casualness I did not feel. "And anything he's managed to get out of Ken, he's spent on video games and comic books."

"Jinpei's fine, Jun." Joe said quietly. "They all are. I'm sure it was a shock for them, losing us, adjusting to civilian life. But they're fighters, like we are. They'll survive."

"They're fighters…" I mulled the thought over in my mind. "Like us… So when X returns…"

"They'll be fighting again." Joe finished my thought for me.

"Do you think we'll…?" Once again, Joe was able to read my mind.

"No." Joe shook his head in a curt manner. "We'll make sure that doesn't happen. We'll keep our distance."

"Still, just seeing them again…" I couldn't help the wistful longing in my voice.

"Don't even think it." Joe warned. "It's too dangerous. If we see them, they could see us, and then it's all over."

"You're right." I acknowledged, but the thought weighed me down. I no longer wanted to practice. Instead, I sunk to the floor, sitting there morosely. Joe studied me for a moment, then jumped up into the air, working on his flying maneuvers. I watched him without truly seeing what he was doing, my mind deep in contemplation.

The mere thought of seeing Ken had been enough to send my spirits soaring, but just as I had been embracing the joy of that possibility, Joe's warning had brought me back down to Earth. I felt bereft all over again, as I had when I had first awoken inside this place. It was as if I was suffering the loss all over again, mourning for what I had always wanted, and now could never be. Once I had thought that the only obstacle between Ken and myself was the impregnable wall of his duty, yet now there was an even more impenetrable barrier separating us. He would never be able to accept that I was no longer human, just as I could never accept that I was holding him back, preventing him from living his life as he truly wanted… as he truly _deserved_.

"Goodbye, Ken…" I whispered, finally ready to let go.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Joe spent the next few days reacquainting himself with his Birdstyle. In a way, it was wonderful to watch the sheer pleasure on his face when he moved and flew as he was accustomed to, only with more power and speed than he had ever displayed before. Yet a flame of jealousy had been lit inside of me, and as each day passed, it only grew. I never said anything, but Joe must have seen the longing written on my face, because one day he walked over, de-transformed, and then tossed his bracelet into my lap. I looked up, astonished.

"What's this for?" I asked, confused.

"You deserve a chance." he shrugged. "Try it."

"It won't work."

"Why not?"

"Our uniforms are on different frequencies, remember?" I reminded him. "They're both close to 3,600 megahertz, but there are signature variations that are unique to each Birdstyle and accompanying G-machine. Your bracelet won't work with my uniform."

"Oh." Joe rubbed his hand through his hair. Clearly he had been sleeping during the training session where Dr. Nambu had explained the mechanics of Birdstyle transformation.

"I appreciate the gesture, really, I do, Joe." I added emphatically. "It's very generous of you. But my bracelet will be fixed in a few days. It's slow, but the progress indicator is going up. It's over ninety-eight percent now."

"So you're saying that my bracelet will only work with my uniform." Joe repeated, ignoring everything I had just said.

"Yes." I didn't understand why he wasn't getting this.

Grinning, Joe pulled off his shirt and tossed it at my feet. I looked up in amazement.

"If it will only work with my uniform, then I guess you'll have to wear my uniform." he smirked. I gathered that he had understood, after all. But this… I couldn't do _this_! 

"You've got to be kidding…"

"Do I look like I'm kidding?" he asked, pulling at his belt. I could hardly believe what he was doing, and my face turned as red as my t-shirt. I wanted desperately to turn away, but I couldn't stop watching as he took off his socks, his shoes, and finally, his jeans.

"Why, Jun, I think you're blushing." Joe mocked gently, a single eyebrow rising in amusement.

"I… it's just…" I couldn't form a proper sentence to save my life. Somehow, Joe standing there in nothing but his underwear was too unnerving.

"We used to change uniforms in front of each other all the time when we first started training." he reminded me.

"We were kids, Joe." I stammered. "It was different…"

"Well, if you're going to look a gift horse in the mouth…" he challenged, glancing at the pile of clothes at my feet. He moved to take them back.

"No! I…" I glanced longingly at the clothes, knowing what they offered… what Joe was offering to me. It was all I had thought about, ever since Joe had started training in his Birdstyle, and now, I could experience it too…

"Go ahead." Joe smirked, leaning against the wall in his usual pose, apparently not the least embarrassed by his state of undress. "If it bothers you that much, I won't look."

I picked up the clothes gratefully, noticing that Joe was making a significant effort to look up at the ceiling. As quickly as I could, I scrambled out of my clothes and replaced them with Joe's. Naturally they were a little big, although his jeans were a touch too snug in the hips. Nervously I smoothed my hands down my sides, my natural female vanity showing itself as I worried about the size of my bottom half.

"Okay." I whispered. Joe pulled his eyes down from the ceiling and laid them to rest on me. I cringed, waiting for the mocking comment I was sure was coming. And yet… Joe didn't appear to be amused.

"It's different…" he commented, his eyes checking me out from all angles. "That's certainly not what I see in the mirror."

Hoping to end his scrutiny, I quickly strapped on Joe's bracelet, swinging it around and in front of my face.

"Bird go!"

The familiar buzz of transformation passed through me, electrifying every nerve and invigorating all of my senses. My skin tingled as the garments I wore altered their form, adjusting themselves to their wearer's shape.

To my surprise, the fit was perfect. Joe's clothes might have been too big, but the Birdstyle had adjusted for differences in body shape and size. I looked down at myself, amazed to see brown-clad legs rather than bare thighs, navy blue boots rather than white… and the wings! Their length was slightly awkward, as I was used to something shorter, and yet they also felt right, as if they were capable of taking me to the moon and back, should I so desire.

I glanced up at Joe, slightly startled to be seeing the world through a violet tint rather than my usual yellow, but my eyes quickly adjusted. Joe appeared to be as taken aback as I was. His usually composed demeanor was gone, leaving in its place an expression of slack-jawed amazement.

"Jun… you're…"

"Well, what did you expect?" I huffed. "It's your uniform, isn't it?"

"Yes… but I didn't expect you to look better in it than I ever did."

Now it was my turn for my jaw to fall open. But I quickly recovered, stifling back a giggle at the unexpected compliment.

"You think so?" I blushed, twirling on my feet to give him the full effect. Immediately, I noted the lower heel on the boots, but I was easily able to adapt.

"I thought your miniskirt was hot." Joe grinned. "But maybe Hakase knew what he was doing when he gave you a different uniform."

"Pig!" I laughed, pulling out my yo-yo. Only, it wasn't my yo-yo. A second later, the crescent-shaped blade of Joe's cablegun smacked into the wall an inch from his head.

"Don't insult my gun with that kind of aim." Joe chastised.

"You'll see who's insulted!" I challenged him, shooting again and giving chase as Joe took off. I flew from perch to perch, leaping lightly into the air, eventually stopping in one location and aiming…

This time the blade grazed Joe's shoulder and he called a time out.

"Truce!" he called. "If you improve that quickly, I don't want to see your next shot!"

"As long as we understand each other." I grinned, reholstering the weapon. It felt wonderful being back in uniform again… even if it wasn't _my_ uniform. In fact, I was having the time of my life. This was different from all of the other times when I had trained in uniform. I had always taken my Birdstyle for granted, even the first time I had ever put it on. But now… now I knew what I had been missing. And I _had_ been missing it.

I had thought that I would never wear Birdstyle again, and now that I had the chance once more, it felt like heaven. It was better than the first swim at the pool each summer, better than Christmas morning… it was a rebirth. As I soared through the air, flipping and somersaulting around the room, in my mind I was flying through the skies, drifting on warm currents of air, discovering the joys of complete freedom of movement. It was a heady feeling, and one that had been missing from my life.

I don't know how long I enjoyed the feel of the air moving against my body and the sensation of flying up to a great height, only to glide back down again. But when I dropped back to the floor for perhaps the fortieth time, Joe approached me.

I had forgotten that he was even there. And even more importantly, I had forgotten that he was dressed only in his underwear.

"So how does it feel?" he asked. "It looks like you had no problems getting used to another Birdstyle."

"Uh…" I stared down at the floor, suddenly finding it difficult to speak. "It was great…"

"You looked great up there." Joe agreed. "It was weird… kind of like watching myself… but then you're clearly _not_ me."

"I hadn't thought of that." I admitted. "I guess it would have been strange seeing your uniform up there. Kind of like when we watched those robot doubles of ourselves going through their tests in the lab."

"Except then, I was wearing my own shirt." Joe recalled. "On some level, I knew it wasn't me. But watching you… you're far more graceful than any robot, Jun."

"I _am_ a robot, Joe." I reminded him. "Or the next best thing, anyhow. Whatever it is I am, I'm no longer human." Joe appeared somewhat flustered, which was rare for him. I guessed he hadn't meant to bring up this sore point.

"Whatever you are, it's the same thing I am." he pointed out. "And you fill out the uniform more than adequately." I nodded as graciously as I could, accepting his unspoken apology.

"But you want it back now, huh?" I guessed.

"Well, it is kind of cold in here."

"Oh, sorry!" I was embarrassed until I saw the light in Joe's eyes. How long had it been since he had teased me in this manner? I thought back, and couldn't recall anything since early in the war.

"You can have it back, now." I told him. "Thanks for letting me borrow it. I'd be happy to return the favor, anytime."

"Somehow, I don't think I'd look too good in your uniform." He raised an eyebrow in a mocking manner.

"I don't know." I grinned. "I think those hairy legs of yours would look pretty good underneath my pink skirt."

"Have you been checking out my legs?"

"Watch it, or I just might pull out this gun again!" I threatened.

"Fine, I surrender." He held up his hands in a joking fashion. I couldn't help but smile. It was good to see Joe this relaxed. It was something he had needed for a very long time.

I detransformed, and then quickly removed Joe's civilian uniform, tossing the garments over in his general direction before rapidly scrambling back into my own clothes. In less than a minute, we were back to 'ourselves' again.

"You forgot something." Joe noted.

"What's that?"

He tapped my wrist, and I realized that his bracelet was still on my arm. Flushing, I removed it, handing it back to its rightful owner.

"If you want, we can do this again."

"No, Joe, you've done enough already." I assured him. "It was wonderful… but I think now I can wait just a little longer."

"Let me know if you change your mind." he said. "I'm glad you got a chance to experience it. I was starting to feel guilty, having all of the fun."

"Soon we'll both be able to have fun at the same time." I told him.

"You mean, you're not having fun now?" I knew he was joking, but something in me took his comment more seriously.

"In this place?" I asked. "It's all right, I suppose. But I need sunlight… I miss seeing the weather. I miss the park…"

"We'll be outside again. Dr. Raphael told me that he wants to start sending us on assignments."

"When?"

"Soon, I hope."


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

It took another five days for my bracelet to finish its self-repair cycle. I gathered that the damage had been fairly extensive. Still, it looked as good as new, and I couldn't wait to try it out. The transformation was clean and perfect, as it should be. My Swan uniform was pristine and white.

Joe and I had been given connecting rooms, so I immediately knocked on his door, wanting to share my excitement.

"What is it?" he mumbled. I could tell from the sound of his voice that he had been sleeping. Although we knew the time, since there were no windows here, our bodies often took on strange sleeping and eating patterns.

I opened the door without responding, simply coming in and sitting on the edge of his bed.

"I just wanted to show you something." I replied airily, watching his face for his reaction. I wasn't disappointed. He was both surprised and pleased to see me back in uniform.

"I guess this means you're not going to 'go Condor' again." he grinned.

"I have to admit, that was fun," I smiled, "but this feels so much better to me."

"I suppose you want to go try it out."

"I was thinking about it."

"I guess a guy can't get any sleep around here."

I saw through him. He was just as pleased as I was, and was eager to test out our abilities.

The next few weeks had us testing out those abilities over and over. We resumed our sparring, this time taking full advantage of Birdstyle. Now that I was able to access my wings, I gave my stash of feather shuriken to Joe, who wasted no time in regaining his skill with his favorite weapon. One of Dr. Raphael's technicians had been able to duplicate the shuriken, but Joe claimed that they were nothing like 'the real thing', although I thought the replicas were pretty decent.

Once we got bored with this, we began practicing all of our old ninja techniques: Cross Fighter, Random Flight, Twin Somersault, even the two-person version of the Tornado Fighter. Everything came back quickly, but we had to adjust for our new bodies and our new skills, working to regain the innate understanding of the movements that had been ingrained in us for so long.

One evening, Dr. Raphael came in to watch us working, and when we landed, he nodded politely to us.

"Come back to my office." he suggested. From anyone else, this might have seemed like a casual invitation, but I had never been in the Doctor's office. None of us spoke as we walked down the corridors and toward Raphael's lab. We moved quickly through the area, entering the office after only a few minutes. I looked around curiously, but Joe appeared right at home.

"Hello, girl." he said, moving over to a large perch in the corner of the room. "It's been awhile." Dr. Raphael's beautiful brown hawk sat on the perch, surveying everything. She almost seemed to nod to Joe, before flying over and landing on Dr. Raphael's right shoulder.

"She remembers you." Raphael noted.

"She's a difficult bird to forget." Joe commented, leaning back against the wall. There were no chairs, other than the one behind the Doctor's desk, so I stood awkwardly in a corner.

"The time has come for you to go on assignment." Raphael began without preamble. "You have both been here for close to one year, and you have pushed your bodies far beyond their normal limits. It seems that Joe's original argument was correct, and you do work better as a team." My eyes widened in surprise. Was Raphael actually admitting that he had been wrong about something?

"I am sending both of you to Ifriquia." he continued, after a small pause. "I've detected some strange activity at the following coordinates." He initiated a display on his monitor, and I stepped closer, analyzing the image before me.

"That looks like a construction site." I noted. "But it seems like it's been fairly well camouflaged."

"If it's been camouflaged, how can you tell what it is?" the Doctor asked me.

"Here, and here." I pointed. "Those groupings of trees aren't natural. They've been moved and replanted. And over there, it appears as if a large hole was dug into the Earth, but has been covered up. I can see tire markings over here, but they just begin out of nowhere, as if after a certain point, they didn't bother to hide the road anymore."

"You are correct, girl." Raphael's eyebrows rose in surprise. "It is my belief that Galactor operatives are building a base in this location. The question is why."

"I'd be more concerned with why they're so organized." Joe commented. "Less than a year ago, the syndicate was blown to pieces, their leader died and the alien entity ruling over all of them disappeared. What's bringing them back together now?"

"A very good question." the Doctor nodded. "I believe that these Galactors have appropriated my equipment."

"What equipment is that?" Joe asked. "Are they creating cyborgs?"

"No. At least, I don't think so." Raphael smiled thinly. "Cybernetics is but the most recent of my many areas of study. Decades ago, I was heavily involved in deep space communications, using a transmission system I had invented, known as leapwaves."

"I haven't heard of Leap Waves." I admitted.

"Of course you haven't." the Doctor snorted. "I kept my discoveries to myself. I didn't need the ISO meddling with my business, just as I don't need them interfering now. The point is, I was able to reach further into space than any human before. I was searching for other forms of life, seeking a means of communicating. But what I found…"

"You found Leader X!" I gasped with sudden realization.

"You are more insightful than I had previously thought, girl." Raphael acknowledged. "I did indeed come into contact with the being known as X, and we communicated with each other. Imagine my excitement at having discovered life outside of our own planet… outside of our own solar system! But it came with a price."

"X came here to see where the transmission was coming from?" Joe guessed.

"Something like that, yes." the Doctor sighed heavily. "I am the one whose activities brought our planet to the attention of X. It is a burden I alone must carry." Despite myself, my heart went out to this gruff, crotchety man. I had always found him to be aloof and short-tempered, but now, understanding his past, I sympathized with the terrible guilt he must feel, knowing what he had inflicted upon the people of Earth.

"Doctor…" I began, but the expression on Joe's face warned me to remain silent.

"As you know, it took me some time to realize that Leader X, as he insisted he be called, was far from beneficent. Despite this setback, since I escaped from Galactor imprisonment, I have continued using my Leap Wave technology, convinced that not all alien species are as dark and malevolent as X. Indeed, I know that X's race is at war with other planets, and if I am able to contact these alien creatures, they may be of assistance to us."

"What does this have to do with the base in Ifriquia?" Joe asked.

"I believe they have discovered my old leapwave transmission equipment, and are using it to communicate with X." Raphael revealed. "They must be stopped. The more information X has, the more he is apprised of the situation on Earth and the more quickly he is likely to reestablish control over the remaining Galactor forces. Right now, Galactor operatives are splintered across the globe. Most of them have reverted to petty criminal behaviors, and do not currently threaten the well-being of the planet. But if they were to join forces again, under a charismatic director backed by Leader X… We cannot let that happen."

"Can we truly prevent such a thing?" I asked. "When X returns, his first priority will be to restore Galactor's power."

"This is true." the Doctor agreed. "But we must delay the inevitable as much as possible. Give the people of Earth a chance to recover from the last war. Allow other institutions, such as the UN and the ISO, to prepare."

"I thought you didn't want us to contact the ISO?" I asked.

"I don't want the ISO knowing my whereabouts." Raphael clarified. "Regardless, I am certain that your Dr. Nambu is well aware that X is likely to return. I have it on good authority that he has begun the process of recruiting your replacements for the Science Ninja Team."

"Replacements?" I felt as if I had been slapped in the face.

"How do you know this?" Joe demanded.

"It matters not." the Doctor waved his hand dismissively in the air. "It does not pertain to the issue at hand. What is important is that you neutralize this base as quickly as possible. The less they communicate with X, the better."

"You can count on us." Joe stated, and I nodded in agreement.

"They are likely to be familiar with your civilian appearances, and they most certainly will be with your Birdstyles." Raphael reminded us. "It is better if you use your uniforms as little as possible. Of course, if it is absolutely necessary… I'll rely on your judgment, Joe."

I huffed silently. Clearly Dr. Raphael still didn't think much of my abilities.

"There is another thing of which you should be aware." the Doctor went on. "Your bodies need to be recharged, every two to three weeks, depending on your activity levels. You have not noticed this here on this base, because I have had the charging equipment integrated into your beds. Effectively, you were 'refreshed' as you slept. But once you leave this place…"

"We understand." Joe replied.

"Good." Raphael nodded. "I have prepared information packets and supplies for you. You will depart tomorrow morning."

We accepted our assignment as graciously as we could, then walked silently back to our rooms. My mind was whirling. After nearly a year, we were finally going to get out of this place.

The question was, were we ready to face the outside world?


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The following morning, I awoke early, placing my civilian uniform and a few toiletries into my bag, as well as the data pad containing the mission information I had studied the previous evening. The backpack also contained the 'supplies' Dr. Raphael had mentioned: food and water rations, a first aid kit, a compass, firearms, throwing knives, explosives and various pieces of computer hacking equipment. I dressed in the black boots, pants, belt and shirt that had been provided, glad that the sleeves were long enough to hide my bracelet. I knew that I couldn't transform in this attire, but it was comforting just having it on. Additionally, if there were a real emergency, I could use it to contact Joe, although there was always the possibility that such a transmission would be monitored by the ISO, which limited its use to life or death situations.

Joe knocked on the connecting door and entered my room, his attire and gear identical to mine. He looked at me and nodded, and we departed together. We met Dr. Raphael in the corridor outside of his laboratory, and he brought us inside. In a small antechamber he accessed a hidden panel, upon which he pressed a series of buttons to reveal a small door in the wall. The door led to a tiny elevator, approximately one and a half meters square.

"This will take you to the Main Hangar." Raphael explained. "You'll find a Comanche Mark IV waiting for you. Good luck."

"We'll be back soon." Joe promised as we entered the elevator.

"Just in case…" the Doctor paused for a moment before continuing, "If you return later than I have anticipated, we will not be here. Construction at my new Ebiza Island base is nearly complete."

"We'll find you." I nodded.

"I know you will." Raphael said. "You have ten days." The elevator door closed and he was gone from sight. The small chamber began to rise.

"Sunlight…" I whispered. I knew I should be keeping my mind on the mission, but the thought of finally being outside was incredibly distracting.

"Cold." Joe reminded me. Looking over the mission data the previous evening, we had discovered that Dr. Raphael's base was located at the Haji Pir Pass in Indria. Decades ago, this part of the world had been a war zone, but now the neighboring countries had made peace and had lived together in harmony… until Galactor had destroyed the hard-won happiness that had finally been achieved. Now the Indrian sub-continent was at peace again. But for how long?

It was cold in the Main Hangar, enough that I should have been shivering. Yet my new body dealt with these minor discomforts as a matter of course, and the temperature wasn't an issue, despite my breath steaming in the air.

There were a few large Galactor transport vessels in the Hangar, as well as a number of smaller craft. The Comanche Mark IV sat off on its own, clearly not of Galactor origin, but obviously manufactured for military use. Briefly, I wondered where Dr. Raphael had obtained such a thing, but understood that it was better that I didn't know. These helicopters were rugged: designed for stealth and built to survive a wide range of weather conditions.

Joe walked over to the Comanche, nodded his approval, and jumped into the passenger seat.

"You've got to be kidding." My eyes narrowed. "You want _me_ to pilot that thing?"

"Flying's not my strong suit." he grimaced. This was certainly true enough. I recalled one mission when Joe had had to fly the God Phoenix. The ride had been so bumpy that Jinpei had nearly lost his lunch. The only reason we had survived landing was because we had touched down on the ocean's surface, not on hard ground. While I had nowhere near the skill of Ken or Ryu, I had piloted the God Phoenix on a number of occasions, including a couple of missions, and had never had a problem. Of course, a helicopter was an entirely different kind of aircraft.

"I'll do my best." I acknowledged. "But you'll have to take over my usual duties and navigate."

"Deal."

Reluctantly I got into the pilot's seat, familiarizing myself with the controls. To my intense relief, they didn't seem all too different from what I had experienced during my own flight training. I closed my eyes, recalling Ken sitting next to me, explaining what each mechanism, each readout, each dial, was for, and how best to use it. Almost subconsciously, I reached for the control panel, activating the ignition sequence.

"I'll open the Hangar doors." Joe said, pressing his own control panel to send out the appropriate signal. I barely heard him. We were lifting off, and I was gently maneuvering the Comanche around the other vessels nearby, moving slowly toward the exit. We passed through the massive portal, which began to close as soon as we had departed.

And then we were out in the open sky, flying past the snowcapped mountains of the Haji Pir Range. I checked our heading, then began picking up speed as we moved away from the high peaks of the middle Himalayas. It was more than 3,500 nautical miles to our destination in Ifriquia. We were carrying additional fuel pods for in-flight refueling, but we would still have to stop enroute. Dr. Raphael had arranged for us to refuel at a remote location on the northern side of the Gulf of Oman, and Joe programmed this in as our destination. I carefully adjusted my heading and speed based on current weather conditions.

I was doing it! I felt a rush of accomplishment. Those long-ago lessons hadn't been forgotten, and I was still a passable pilot.

"If only Ken could see me now…" I murmured to myself.

"Did you say something?" Joe asked. Despite the stealth settings, the Comanche still created enough noise that it was difficult to hear everything.

"No." I shook my head, refocusing back on the task at hand. The trip was likely to take about eight hours, including the refueling stop. I had a long day ahead of me.

I was able to pace myself, and our refueling stop occurred without incident. Before I knew it, we were nearly at our final destination.

The images shown to us by Dr. Raphael had been taken approximately three hundred fifty kilometers northwest of Khartoum, in the Sudan region of Ifriquia. We were headed to a spot a few kilometers away, the better to avoid arousing any suspicion. Still, the entire area was composed of sparsely-populated desert, which would create a measurable detection risk, no matter how far away we were.

Landing the Comanche in a sandstorm was far from ideal, considering my rudimentary piloting skills, yet I was concerned more about the dry, hot weather at our final destination. The clear skies made for good viewing, and I could only pray that whichever Galactors were on guard at that moment, they wouldn't spot the sand blowing up from our helicopter landing.

One advantage of the billowing sand clouds created by our arrival was that they settled onto the Comanche, providing a measure of camouflage in this harsh environment. Still, neither of us was entirely certain that our arrival hadn't been noticed. As a precautionary measure, we had already decided to wait until it got dark to make our way to the coordinates given to us by Dr. Raphael.

"It's another few hours until sunset." Joe remarked. "Do you want to catch some sleep?"

"I wouldn't mind." I replied. I had been up much of the night thinking about this mission, and the stress of piloting an unfamiliar aircraft had weighed heavily on me.

"I'll keep watch." he decided, unstrapping his seat harness and moving into the back of the helicopter. I followed. Between the fuel pods there was a small amount of floor space that was just big enough for us to lean our backs against the wall and stretch out our legs. Joe took the security panel from its dock on the main controls and brought it with him, so he could observe the exterior and surroundings of the helicopter from within.

Space was tight, and I ended up jammed against Joe between the fuel pods. I shifted slightly and my elbow jabbed his stomach.

"Sorry…" I muttered, embarrassed.

"That would have hurt a lot more before I got an 'iron stomach'." he replied sardonically. "But in the interests of preventing further injury…" He lifted up his arm, putting it around me and allowing my head to rest on the side of his chest, just below his collarbone.

"Thanks." I whispered gratefully, closing my eyes. The scent of gasoline mixed with the warmth of his skin, creating an oddly comforting atmosphere. I sighed softly, then fell asleep.

It seemed like only a moment later that Joe was rousing me, and when I opened my eyes, I realized that it was dark. Regretfully I sat up, moving away from my comfortable position.

"Here." Joe passed me a small container, which I recognized as a contact lens case. Dr. Raphael had created special 'covers' for our eyes, to allow us to see at night. They functioned in a fashion similar to nightvision goggles, but they hadn't been tested yet. Still, any advantage we could get was worth taking.

"Thanks." I replied, putting in the covers and blinking to adjust. Everything was colored in a sickly greenish-white hue, but was otherwise clear. I slipped the case back into my pocket, then pulled a ration bar out of my backpack.

"Are we ready to go?" I asked.

"I am if you are."

My response was a quick grin, after which I stood up and eased out of the cramped Comanche. The night outside was cool, but again, I didn't feel any discomfort. I checked my compass, and began trudging in the correct direction. Joe's quiet footsteps followed behind me.

There was a slight wind, shifting the sand behind us to cover our footprints, and no moon, for which I was very grateful. I didn't know how good these Galactor remnants were, but I didn't want to give them any excuse to find us. Despite my new body, I felt alone and vulnerable out in the desert, literally in the middle of nowhere. If Joe hadn't been with me, I might have succumbed to a greater degree of fear, but his presence was reassuring: reminding me that I wasn't completely on my own in this matter.

Our pace was measured, but thanks to our enhanced bodies, approximately twice as fast as a 'normal' person could walk. It took us just over an hour to reach the given coordinates.

The area looked similar to the image we had seen on Dr. Raphael's monitor, save for the change in perspective and the eerie greenish-white color washing over everything. This was a small 'oasis' in the desert: a water hole that was dry nine months of the year (currently it was during that dry season) with a few brown, scrubby trees dotting the landscape in irregular clumps. I didn't speak, but pointed over toward the trees, indicating that we should circle around. Joe nodded in agreement, and I moved off, pulling out my scanner as I went.

We proceeded slowly, searching for any sign of man in this remote corner of the Earth. At first, all I noted were desiccated animal droppings, but then my pad picked up something. I stopped, crouching down for further analysis. Sure enough, I had picked up something metallic. And not just any metal: a tritinium alloy.

Bingo. I pointed below my feet.

Joe began pushing the sand aside with his hands. It didn't take long to find a large metal plate, buried approximately one and a half meters below the surface of the sand. He put his ear to the panel, listening for a moment, then pulled out the blowtorch attachment on his cablegun and began cutting a small circle in its center. I held my breath, watching the area around us for any sign that our presence had been detected.

There was none.

Joe finished his work, easily peeling aside the stiff metal so that we could peer through. It appeared as if we had found some kind of supply storage area, for boxes and crates lined a small chamber below us. The floor was covered in drifts of sand: far more than the small amount that would have come in from our illicit activities.

I gestured inside, and Joe nodded, indicating that he would go first. Quietly, he dropped down into the hole, while I set up a small holographic projector at its rim. The projector would create false images both above and below our entrance point, camouflaging our digging site and the hole to casual observation, from inside and out. However this wouldn't be enough to fool any kind of more sophisticated surveillance. I could only hope that the Galactors here were the same kind of complacent, unsophisticated goons we were used to.

Finished with my work, I dropped through the hole, pulling it closed as much as I could. Joe was standing next to a door in the corner of the room, listening for any activity on the other side. He signaled that the way was clear, and quickly opened the portal.

The hallway on the other side was dimly lit by 'emergency-style' lighting, and we decided to remove our night-vision covers, which didn't operate nearly so well with illumination brighter than a full moon. The corridor ran in two directions, and I looked to Joe to see which way he thought we should go. He shrugged, casually pointing to the right.

This time Joe was in the lead, and I was watching his back. Yet there was nothing to watch for. The corridor was completely empty. We came across doors similar to the one through which we had entered, and the rooms beyond were similar: storage rooms filled with crates and boxes, or occasionally empty. Both the corridor and the rooms were littered with small drifts of sand. Every fifty meters I placed explosives at structurally strategic points. They were programmed to detonate remotely at my command.

Eventually we came to a dead end: there was nowhere further to explore. To be certain, we scanned the area, but there was nothing. In a way it was frustrating, but even more, it unnerved me. How could we have walked for two hours or more undetected? Why hadn't we seen anyone in here? There were enough familiar devil logos carved into the walls and doors, and painted on random boxes, to confirm that this was one of Galactor's installations.

So where was everyone?

Sighing, we turned around, and this time I had the lead position. Since we had already explored this area, it was a much faster journey back to our original entrance point. Briefly, we checked to ensure that our makeshift door was undisturbed, then moved on down the other direction of the corridor.

After perhaps another half hour of exploration and judicious deployment of explosives, we began to notice that the storerooms were bigger, and showed some signs of recent activity: patterns in the sand on the floor that indicated boxes were being pushed and pulled, and even a few footprints. The hair on the back of my neck prickled, and we became even more vigilant, our progress slowing to a crawl as we checked around every corner, taking every precaution we could think of.

Yet still, there was no one.

At long last, after perhaps another hour, we began to hear a faint murmuring sound. I slowed my movement, listening carefully, attempting to see if I could identify the barely audible noise ahead.

Voices.

I stopped, crouching down low, straining to hear further. The voices moved closer, and it quickly became clear that they were headed in our direction. Joe tugged on my arm, and I turned to see him pointing to the corner we had just rounded. I followed him there, waiting out of sight, listening carefully to see who was approaching.

"What does he want this time?"

"Wine. He knows Lord Katse had a few cases stored in here."

"Wine? The Commander doesn't seem like the type…"

"I guess he's celebrating. He said that the project has nearly been completed."

"Really? That's great! Now I can get back to 'guard duty' all day." The voice's owner snickered derisively. "Not that there's much to 'guard'. Who the hell do they think is going to come out here, in the middle of the desert?"

"Don't count on it." The other voice sighed heavily. "I heard that now we'll be on 'monitoring duty'… and the Commander himself is going to supervise us."

"Shit! Where the hell did this guy come from, anyhow? Who is he to order us around?"

"I heard he's from South Ifriquia. After Headquarters was destroyed, his installation was the biggest Galactor base left. All I know is, our station in Australis got word that everyone was to regroup here, and I came."

"At least you had a station. The UN found ours, and I barely escaped. None of the safe houses were active anymore. I had to eat garbage…"

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard it before. Shut up, Jerrson."

"Eat shit, Rul."

My mind raced. Who was this Commander? What project was nearly completed? Was it possible that Galactor had already communicated with X and received instructions? But there was no time to think about this now. The voices were approaching, although their footsteps sounded as if they were slowing down.

"5689-A. This is the one." There was the sound of a door opening.

"I hope it's not as heavy as those isometric circuits we had to get last week."

The other voice seemed prepared to respond, but cursed instead, just as a breeze began to pick up.

"Aw shit! They opened the fucking vents again. I hate this freaking sand!"

"Let's just get the damn wine and get back. Maybe they'll close it again quickly."

"One hour a day. Don't you listen?" A smacking sound followed this reprimand.

"Ow! That hurts!"

"Then stop being stupid! One hour a day! If we don't get fresh air, we run out of oxygen. The Commander's only explained it about a hundred times! Geez!"

Joe's eye caught mine, and instantly I understood what he had in mind. Quietly, we rounded the corner, noting the open door in front of us. We ran inside, only to see the backs of two Galactor guards in front of us. I smashed the heel of my hand into the skull of the man closest to me, while Joe twisted the other's neck with a quick snap. Pulling the bodies aside, we began stripping them of their uniforms. They were exactly as I remembered: green and ugly. I put a handful of mini-grenades into my pocket, and switched the standard issue-Galactor gun in the holster with the sonic laser pistol given to me by Dr. Raphael. Since the majority of my explosives had already been deployed, my backpack was significantly less bulky than it had been. With a little pushing and tugging, I found that I was able to wear it inside of my green uniform, where it helped disguise my feminine form with a little extra bulk. Before putting on my mask, I pinned up my hair enough that its length was reduced as it lay around my neck.

We opened the crate of wine, tossing Joe's backpack inside.

"Better help me with this wine, Jerrson." I mock lectured.

"Eat shit, Rul." Joe smirked.

Carefully we picked up the case, which the two recently-deceased men had kindly already begun to extract from the piles of crates in the storeroom, and carried it out into the corridor, closing the door behind us. We moved along the passageway, whispering so quietly that even our enhanced hearing had difficulty picking up each other's words over the rustle of the hot, dry breeze moving through the base. Periodically we stopped so that I could place more explosives (from Joe's supply, as mine had been completely deployed) along the corridor.

"Make sure you don't run out of those." he warned me.

"I've got enough left to blow up a mountain." I replied. "In a place like this, supplies are gold. Destroying this base will get Galactor where it hurts. Besides, you never know when we might need a good distraction."

"Fair enough." Joe shrugged. "Just make sure you save some for the main event."

"I've already got those reserved." I grinned.

"It sounds like they've got something of a skeleton crew here." he noted. "They're likely to know each other, even in these getups, so we'll have to keep out of sight."

"I'm wondering what this 'project' is." I mused. "Does it have to do with the leapwaves?"

"That would be my guess. Who is this Commander?"

"Weren't you listening? He's from South Ifriquia." I joked. "But I'd like to know where this vent is located: the one they opened for fresh air."

"Wherever it is, it's not near here."

We were approaching an area that was more brightly lit, and we ceased our conversation. The lone corridor finally came to an intersection, and we could see more Galactor soldiers down both ends of this new passageway. One of them approached us.

"Jerrson, Rul, not that way!" the man called. "The Commander wants you to take that to the lab!" He was gesturing in a 'come hither' motion.

"Into the lion's den." Joe mouthed.

"Lab sounds promising." I mouthed back. If the wine was for celebrating the project's completion, and we were taking it to a laboratory, then that meant we were on the right track.

We kept to one side of the corridor, and I did my best to blend in with the shadows against the left wall, maintaining as much distance as possible between myself and the soldiers, my gender being a dead giveaway that I wasn't whom I was supposed to be. Joe kept his head bent and generally made it look as if all of his effort was being put into lugging his heavy burden. The truth was that while the crate's weight may have been heavy for the average Galactor soldier, it was hardly a problem for our enhanced strength.

We passed by the soldier who had called us. Just beyond lay our destination. A massive pair of double doors opened up into a cavernous chamber. Green-uniformed men swarmed over a massive piece of equipment, supervised by other Galactors sporting long white coats over the standard olive garb.

In the midst of the group, shouting orders and directing everyone present, stood a tall man in what could best be described as a modern form of Roman armor. A round, orange helmet with orange circles and black highlighting on the sides covered his head. A visor half-obscured his face in the front, while long, dark hair emerged from the back. His body was dressed in a matching orange chest plate that extended to cover his shoulders. His lower half was garbed in a more typical Galactor-style bodysuit and boots, in a matching shade of orange. A bright red cape, clashing horribly with the rest of his costume, extended from the back right of the chest plate, draping over to the man's left wrist. I had always wondered about Berg Katse's style, but this man took the cake.

"Commander Marstora!" one of the white-coated men called out, confirming my suspicions about the man in orange. "There's a problem with the power couplings!"

"Can't you do anything by yourself?" Marstora growled angrily. "You men are incompetent!" His eyes swept the room, noting the crate of wine that Joe and I were carrying.

"You two, get that over there!" He pointed toward the corner. "Clearly we're not ready for it yet." The Commander's attention turned toward the goon in the white coat, his scowl darkening. Marstora's eyes seemed to be completely dark, and surrounded by black paint of some kind, which extended down the sides of his jaw to cover his chin. The effect was simultaneously effeminate and menacing.

I shuffled over to the corner with Joe, doing my best to blend in with my surroundings and give off the impression that carrying the crate was taking all of my effort. But my attention was not focused on my burden. Rather, the object of my scrutiny was the large device in the center of the room. From the mission information data that Dr. Raphael had provided, I had easily identified it as his prototype leapwave transmitter. My heart leapt into my throat. It appeared as if the transmitter was not operational. Was it possible that this Commander Marstora had not yet contacted Leader X?

I bent over the case of wine, carefully removing the top of the crate and secreting Joe's backpack behind the wooden box. Together, we began taking out the bottles, setting them onto a nearby table.

"That's enough wine!" Marstora shouted at us. He had moved away from the crowd of men surrounding the leapwave transmitter.

"I'm not going to waste it all on you louts!" the Commander berated us. "Come over here. I've got another assignment for you two."

I glanced up nervously at Joe. It was now or never. It wouldn't take this Commander long to figure out that we weren't the men who had originally worn these uniforms. Slowly we rose to our feet, Joe doing his best to stay in front of me as we walked across the room.

When we were still about ten meters from Marstora's position, another man burst into the room, waving a data pad and running to the Commander's location.

"Commander Marstora!" he cried, slightly out of breath. "You need to see this!"

"What is it, Loktar?" Marstora asked, snatching the pad away from the soldier.

"We… we think it's a helicopter, Sir. It looks like a UN issue."

"Where?"

"Approximately four kilometers to the north."

"What the hell? It looks as if it's been there awhile. Hours, maybe days!"

"We just discovered it, Sire. It wasn't there yesterday."

"Why didn't you damn well discover it when it landed?" the Commander ranted, backhanding Loktar with enough force that the man fell to the floor. "What are you doing up in that security station?"

"We're somewhat undermanned, Commander." the soldier admitted, rubbing his jaw as he spoke. "Only one of us is on at a time. Last night it was Perkins on the duty roster."

"I want you _and_ Perkins to destroy that thing!" Marstora ordered angrily. "Send a rocket at it, then go out there and clean up any leftovers!"

"Leftovers, Sire?" Loktar asked as he nervously picked himself up off of the floor.

"_Someone_ flew that thing here, you idiot!" The Commander smacked the guard again, but this time the man remained standing. "Whoever it is has got to be snooping around outside. Eliminate them!"

My heart sank. They had discovered our helicopter. It wasn't that I was attached to the Comanche, but it was our ticket out of this remote desert. Not only that, but Commander Marstora was aware of our presence. He appeared to be an intelligent man and it wouldn't be too long before he realized that we had already entered the base.

Time was running out.

"Uh… that's a lot of ground to cover…" the soldier groveled.

"You've got a point." Marstora admitted grudgingly. "I'll reallocate some of these troops. Most of them don't know an electron screwdriver from their asses, so they're not much use here." The Commander walked over to the large group of men, shouting out new orders. Joe and I moved over to the side of the room, doing our best to look busy. But Marstora wasn't fooled. He certainly had a sharp eye, even if he was dealing with subordinates of below-average intellect.

"You two, get over there and fix those power couplings!" he bawled at us. I jumped, startled, which appeared to be the reaction the Commander had been looking for. He turned, departing the room with Loktar scurrying at his heels.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The man in the white lab coat came over, barely glancing at us, but directing us over to an open panel on the leapwave transmitter.

"Pull out those couplings and replace them with these." the man instructed, gesturing toward an open box half-filled with electrical components. He turned, on the verge of stalking away to supervise the next group of workers. But then he stopped, peering closer at me. I did my best to hide behind Joe, but this persistent Galactor wasn't having any of it.

"You…" his eyes widened in amazement. "You're a woman!"

"I…" I did my best to respond in a deep, gruff voice, even knowing it was too late. Our cover had been blown.

"A woman?"

"Jerrson, you snuck a woman in here?"

"You're going to share, right?"

"Where is she?"

Before Joe or I could react, the dozen Galactors still remaining in the room had already stood up, and were eagerly approaching our position. I was far more unnerved by the Galactors' discovery that we weren't who we seemed to be, rather than by the intentions of this rough mob. I knew that Joe and I were easily capable of handling ourselves in a fight… but what if these men managed to raise the alarm? Could we really fight our way out of this base meter by meter?

I saw Joe's shoulders tense, and knew he had reached the same conclusion I had.

"Come here, babe!" One of the soldiers grabbed at me, but I easily avoided his clumsy maneuver.

"I'm no one's 'babe'." I growled, striking out at the man, breaking his neck. He collapsed to the ground. The other men laughed raucously, not yet realizing that their comrade was dead. I only had a second to act. I spun on the ball of my foot, lashing out at the Galactor in the lab coat, crushing his windpipe with a high kick. I carried my momentum forward, striking at another soldier before dropping my leg down.

By this time, the men had all realized that something was up, and they rushed me en masse, as I had hoped. Controlled by a mob mentality, their supervisor down, none of them had thought to call for backup or raise an alarm. Joe used the advantage of surprise to start picking them off from behind, literally grabbing two men at a time and bashing their heads together with enough force to crack their skulls. I reverted to combat techniques from our earliest training days at Dr. Nambu's villa, kicking and punching in rapid succession, although the power of these attacks was far greater than I could ever have imagined all those years ago. At every point of contact, I felt the force of my hands and feet sinking through muscle and flesh to bone, literally disabling my opponents by destroying their skeletons. A kick to the right spot on a soldier's ribs would send sharp shards of bone into his heart. A hit to the nose would force bone fragments into my attacker's brain. My very touch meant death, and at that moment it was a heady feeling, a menacing rush of power coursing through my soul.

It only took a few seconds to destroy them all, littering the floor with broken fragments of creatures that only a moment before had been men, but were now wrecks of humanity. A low snarl escaped my throat as my head whipped around, looking for more opponents, disappointment washing over me as I realized there were no further targets for my aggression. I was like an animal, bent on destruction, enjoying the chaos I had wrought.

Inside, I was horrified by my reaction. How could I have done this? How could I have fought my enemy, killed so many so quickly… and _enjoyed_ it? As my senses returned, a feeling of shame began to overtake me.

Joe caught my gaze, and I saw my own primal emotions reflected back at me. Yet there was no sense of disgrace in his eyes, only a cold sense of the rightness of our actions. He had enjoyed our brief combat, but had no regrets. Relief coursed through me as I realized that Joe understood… that he had experienced the same feelings as I, but without the self-recrimination. It was something of a shock to realize that this man I respected, whom I loved like a brother, could throw off the near-instantaneous killing of a dozen men as something necessary, with no apologies for his enjoyment of the act.

"Let's move it!" he barked, breaking the spell of the moment. I nodded, my head instantly back in the game. I moved quickly over to the leapwave transmitter, catching the backpack full of explosives that Joe tossed my way. I focused completely on my work, wiring enough explosives into Dr. Raphael's prototype device to instantly incinerate it. The entire process took less than a quarter of a minute, but before I was done, loud sirens were going off.

"Intruders outside the base!" Commander Marstora's voice rang out over an internal announcement system. "Every man to combat stations!"

Did Marstora think we were still outside? Or was there someone else? Whatever the reason, I didn't want to sit around contemplating it. I tossed the now-lightened backpack to Joe and slammed shut the panel on the leapwave transmitter.

"Time to go." I noted. "I can set these off as long as I'm within two kilometers."

"Good enough." Joe replied curtly, indicating that I was to join him with a sharp gesture. We moved back toward the door through which we had entered, but when it opened, it was all I could do to contain my gasp of shock.

The corridor was filled with men: a river of Galactor green all running in one direction.

"Battle stations!" shouted a man with sergeant's stripes on his shoulder. "Everyone to the Vehicle Bay!" 

There was no help for it. From the moment we opened the door, Joe and I were victims of this sea of humanity, being pushed along the passageway toward the unknown Vehicle Bay. The men were rowdy, clearly eager for a fight, and no one was paying much attention to anyone else, so for the moment my gender seemed to escape notice, despite the close quarters. It was all I could do to keep track of Joe, as he moved ahead of me in the crowd, the green uniforms in view all blending together. It was fortunate for me that he carried his backpack down at his side, which helped me identify him amongst the rest of the otherwise identical men.

We had to get out of here. The longer we stayed, the more likely it was that someone would discover us, or worse, discover the explosives I had left behind, and begin disarming them. I could only hope that once we got to this Vehicle Bay, we'd be able to find a way out.

It seemed that Joe had been thinking similar thoughts, as the moment we arrived at our destination, he headed toward a small military-style jeep. The Vehicle Bay was swarming with troops, perhaps a hundred men all rushing to various helicopters, tanks, and small jeeps like the one Joe had set his sights on. Every vehicle was filling up with armed men, grabbing laser rifles, rocket launchers, and shoulder cannons… any kind of weapon they could lay their hands on. Boldly, I seized one of each from the distribution racks before meeting up with Joe, who was already sitting in the driver's seat of the jeep. I tossed the rifle into his lap as I got in.

"Thought you could use this." I murmured.

"Only if I'm lucky." he grinned back, his eyes lighting up as he looked at the gun. His fingers drummed impatiently on the steering wheel. Joe had chosen the first unoccupied vehicle, but unfortunately it had been behind a large convoy of others. Massive doors were opening at the side of the Bay, but it was clear that we would have to wait our turn to leave. The deep red light of sunrise washed over the waiting troops, coloring the usually-green uniforms with a blood-like haze.

"Over here!" a voice called. I glanced backward, surprised to see a Galactor soldier climbing into the jeep behind me, another not far behind. I turned quickly, grateful that they hadn't been looking at me during my brief lapse.

"You a good driver?" the soldier knocked Joe on the shoulder.

"I'm the best." Joe smirked.

"You'd better be!" the man replied. "Word has it that Commander Marstora's giving a week's leave to the men who take down these intruders!"

"A week?" Joe snorted. "It would take a week just to get out of this damned desert!"

"Leave on the transport, idiot!" the other Galactor sneered. "A chance to get out of this hellhole!"

"I'm going to take the intruders down if it kills me!" the first soldier boasted. "You just drive, and let me take care of the shooting." I snuck a glance at Joe, who appeared to be torn between laughing and smashing his fist into the man's face. Fortunately for our cover, he managed to hold himself back from both actions. His self-control was rewarded, as at that moment, the jeep in front of us pulled away, and it was suddenly our turn to depart. Joe took off, tires squealing, to the delighted whoops of our unwanted passengers. We exited the Vehicle Bay, emerging onto the desert sands, one tiny group of Galactor green in a sea of others. Most of the vehicles took off to the left, but Joe swerved through the cross-traffic, moving in a direction that was roughly straight ahead.

"What the hell are you doing?" The outraged cry came from the back of the jeep. "Everyone's going that way! That's the direction of the damned helicopter."

"If this intruder has any brains, he'll come around, not head straight toward the base." Joe replied casually.

"If you have any brains, you'll turn this vehicle around." the soldier growled. I heard a click, and saw the muzzle of a rifle being placed at the back of Joe's head.

"I have brains." Joe agreed, suddenly swerving the jeep in a sharp turn to the right. predictably, the Galactors had not used their seatbelts, and as a result went flying off the back left of the vehicle, their heads plunging into a large sand dune.

"I have brains, and I plan on keeping them." Joe elaborated, as he spun the wheel to get us back on course.

I looked back, noticing that the soldiers were pulling themselves out of the sand. They were morons, but not _that_ moronic. It was a sure bet that in a moment we'd have the entire body of Galactor troops hot on our tails. And if we were already found out, there was no more reason for delay. Quickly, I pulled out the control device from my pocket and activated it, depressing the detonator button with my fingertip.

For a few seconds, there was only silence behind us. Then a small ripple, and then… The sky exploded in a burst of fire, metal and sand. The ground behind us seemed to quiver, before collapsing completely inward on itself, sending up another spray of flaming debris. Molten sand rained down on the men who were still near the Vehicle Bay, creating chaos in its wake.

"Nice job." Joe smirked.

"I think I overdid it a bit on the leapwave transmitter." I shrugged. "But better too much than too little. I'm out of practice."

"It works for me." he grinned, just as elated as I was. The adrenaline rush pulsing through my body was nearly euphoric, and I could see that Joe was being affected in the same manner.

"We've still got trouble, though." I pointed up into the sky, where a fleet of helicopters was fast approaching our position. On the ground there were also a few jeeps in pursuit, but we had already outrun the tanks, which were not capable of the speed of our lighter vehicle.

"Not a problem." Joe replied, pulling his rifle off of his lap and pointing it toward the nearest aircraft. It only took him a second to aim and fire, but his shot was true. Fuel began pouring out of the helicopter as its fuel line was severed. It was obviously going to have to land, but until then, the soldiers inside were bound to make trouble for us. With my enhanced sight, I could tell that they were setting up rocket launchers.

"Not on my watch!" I growled, grabbing my own rocket launcher and standing up in my seat as much as my belt harness would allow. I hefted the device onto my shoulder, aimed and fired. While my marksmanship was nowhere near the level of Joe's, the degree of talent required for this kind of shot was minimal. If I could hit the broad side of a barn, I'd make it. The difficulty lay in manipulating the heavy, cumbersome launching device, but with my cybernetic strength, that wasn't a problem.

The helicopter exploded, the fiery burst taking out another aircraft in close proximity.

"Show off." Joe snorted. "No finesse."

"Just watch where we're going!" I hollered, as the jeep flew up over a sand dune, only to come crashing back down a moment later on the other side. I bounced in my seat.

"Can't take a little action?" he commented, even as he aimed his rifle again. This time, he appeared to have shot through the windshield and into the helicopter's cockpit, taking out the pilot. The aircraft immediately spiraled toward the ground, a spout of orange and red in the distance revealing its fate.

"I'd take a little less right now, yeah." I replied. But even as I said the words, I knew that I didn't really mean it. I was having the time of my life, and truly enjoying myself in a fashion I could never have imagined. I twisted around inside my harness, facing the back of the jeep, using the rocket launcher to take aim at the vehicles pursuing us on the ground. The jeeps seemed to have transformed, altering their shapes into something else… something with jet propulsion.

"I think this thing transforms!" I shouted at Joe, but he was too busy aiming at another helicopter. A laser blast whizzed by my ear, and I saw that another half dozen aircraft were now in firing range. Grimly, I turned back to our pursuers, loading another rocket into the launcher and taking aim. One of the transformed jeeps exploded, rolling over and leaving a trail of scorched tires behind it. Meanwhile, Joe had taken down a fourth helicopter, and was aiming for another.

Our pursuers continued to approach, we continued to pick them off. It was a stalemate. The only question was what would run out first: our ammunition, or their numbers.

It was close. I ran out of rockets, and had to resort to the laser cannon. This took a bit more finesse, and more than once I was forced to dodge laser bullets and start the aiming process all over again. In my ears I heard the heady rush of explosions, men shouting and laughter… Joe's laughter, echoing in my ears. It was a harsh, maniacal sound, but it fueled me, sending a fierce energy pumping through my veins, a heady mixture from which I drew heavily, forcing the enemy back, ensuring that they did not get close enough to kill.

And then we were free. My head swung back and forth as I searched for our pursuers… and there were none. Between us, we had destroyed them all.

It wasn't enough. My muscles, stiff and sore, still ached to move, while my brain refused to stop analyzing ways to improve my aim, to take out as many enemies as possible with one shot. I gasped for air, forcing my body to relax, but the adrenaline cocktail still running through my veins had long-lasting effects. Everything seemed more sharp, more clear… more _alive_.

"Damn, that was fun!" Joe whooped like a child, flooring the accelerator once again and causing us to shoot forward in a spray of sand. He turned to look at me, heedless of the oncoming landscape rushing toward us.

"It was…" I gasped in surprise, accepting the sudden realization that I had enjoyed myself… that I didn't want it to be over.

"Hell of a way to end a mission." he grinned, glancing forward again. He continued to swivel his head between me and the endless desert ahead.

"Firing those rockets…" I relived the memory, my foolish euphoria taking control of my emotions.

"Damn sexy, if you ask me."

"Yeah, guns and explosions always turn me on." I had intended my response to be jocular, but the moment the words were out of my mouth, I realized that it was the truth. I had always loved my job as explosives expert… and suddenly I knew exactly why.

We were two of a kind, Joe and I.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

No matter how much I searched the dashboard, I couldn't figure out how to change our jeep into the jet-powered vehicles I had seen pursuing us. I guessed that the transformation must be initiated by some remotely-generated frequency. Yet it was just as well that I was unsuccessful in this endeavor, because our fuel began to run low. In jet form, I knew we would have run out of power in less than fifteen minutes, but with Joe's finesse at the wheel, we were able to keep the jeep running for another few hours. We were headed straight for the nearest settlement, a small village by the name of Tangea, approximately three hundred kilometers south of our point of origin. Normally such a distance could be covered relatively quickly in a motor vehicle, but since we were driving on sand, even an expert driver like Joe had to stay below sixty kilometers an hour. As it was, I took over the wheel for approximately ninety minutes, driving even more slowly, but giving Joe a chance to rest, as he had done for me the night before. With all of these constraints on our travel efficiency, we found ourselves still a hundred kilometers away from Tangea when the jeep's engine finally sputtered and died.

"Looks like it's time to walk." Joe muttered, rubbing sand out of his sleep-crusted eyes. He stretched outward, his muscles rippling underneath his black shirt. His Galactor uniform, like mine, had been discarded a couple of hours before, as neither of us was truly comfortable wearing such garments.

"Right." I agreed, taking a quick look through the vehicle for any supplies we might find useful. In a floor compartment I discovered ten liters of water and a container of sunscreen spray. My eyebrows rose in surprise. This small find demonstrated far more foresight and common sense that I had ever known Galactor to display before. Could it be due to this mysterious Commander Marstora's influence? I felt a cold chill of premonition running down my spine, and somehow I knew that we hadn't seen the last of this cold, calculating man.

I grabbed the supplies, stuffing them into my backpack, and exited the vehicle with Joe.

"Any more ammo in that?" I asked, nodding at the rifle he had slung around his shoulder.

"I guess not." he shrugged, tossing it back into the jeep. "It just felt…good."

"We've still got our pistols." I reminded him, turning to the shoulder cannon. "You're good for a sprint, right?"

"No problem." He peered over my shoulder curiously, then murmured his approval as he realized what I was doing. "Nice."

"Thought we should at least attempt to cover our tracks." I replied, fixing the final setting on the cannon. I turned, running from the jeep as fast as I could, Joe following behind me. In my head I counted to five, then threw myself down on the ground. A second later the shoulder cannon overloaded, exploding from a sharp increase in internal pressure, engulfing the vehicle in a fiery burst. Within moments, the jeep was a blackened heap of charred metal.

"Let's see them get any DNA off of that." I smirked, brushing my hands on my pants.

"If we're lucky, it'll be buried in sand within a couple of hours." Joe added, adjusting the fit of his backpack. "Not to mention our footprints."

"It's windy enough." I agreed, and we began our trudge toward civilization. According to our GPS, we had roughly a hundred kilometers before we reached Tangea. Even with our increased stamina and speed, it would still take us more than two days to walk that distance, and that wasn't taking into account any rest stops.

The journey was long and tedious. The intense sun beating down on our heads sapped our strength, although thanks to our long clothing and Galactor-provided sunscreen, at least we didn't burn. I should have been hot and sweating, but I only felt exhausted. That fatigue was more mental and emotional than physical, and when I glanced over at Joe, I could see that he was suffering the same experience as I. We were paying a heavy price for the adrenaline rush we had called forth during our escape from Commander Marstora's base.

Eventually the sun went down, and once it got too dark to see, Joe indicated that we should stop. I collapsed to the ground, not even bothering to reach for my night vision eye covers, wanting only to rest. I knew without being told that a fire was a bad idea. Sighing, I pulled two ration bars and two liters of water and from my pack, tossing one of each to Joe. We spent a few minutes refueling, then stretched out on the sand. I was punching my backpack, doing my best to create a makeshift pillow, when Joe extended his arm out in my direction.

"Thanks." I murmured sleepily, moving over to lay my head on his shoulder. Joe's arm curled around me as my body settled itself along the length of him. I could hear his heart beating underneath my ear. The soft, persistent sound created a soothing environment, lulling me to sleep even before I had time to marvel at this magical part of him that was still so human.

The next morning we awoke to a blistering sun. Downing another ration bar and the remainder of the previous night's bottles of water, we checked our compasses and set off once more. The GPS told us that we had approximately sixty-five kilometers to walk, which meant that we'd be spending another night in the desert. Mentally, I rationed our water supply accordingly. We'd be a little thirsty, but we could manage. In addition to the water from the jeep, we had a small supply given to us by Dr. Raphael, which would suffice until we could acquire more.

By the time we stopped to rest that night, we were only twelve kilometers from Tangea, yet it felt like a million miles. I crept gratefully into the safe haven of Joe's arms, falling asleep with the thought that we could have a proper meal for lunch tomorrow.

The end of our journey, when it arrived, proved to be anticlimactic. Approximately two kilometers from Tangea we came across the hard-packed dirt of a road, albeit one that was clearly seldom used and covered with random drifts of sand. Tangea itself might have seemed disappointing, but to our exhausted eyes, the three square blocks of paved downtown looked like heaven. A grocery store, a general store, a restaurant… and a train station. Unconsciously I picked up my pace, eager to find my way back home.

Home… it was strange thinking of Dr. Raphael's base that way. I had been trying to escape from the Doctor's laboratory for so long, and now that I was out in the world, all I wanted was to be back there.

I felt a gentle pressure on my fingers, and looked down to see that Joe had taken my hand in his. I glanced up, only to catch the hint of a smile at the edge of his mouth. I smiled back at him, basking in the sudden revelation: Dr. Raphael's base wasn't home.

Home was Joe.

As long as we were together, it didn't matter where we were. He was a link to my past, but also to my future. We were alive, and we were together, and there could be no greater joy than that. I laughed aloud as comprehension flooded my brain.

"What's so funny?" he asked, amused.

"I just realized what was really important." I replied, my eyes sparkling with mirth.

"You're sure the sun hasn't baked what's left of your brains?"

"I'll show you 'baked'!" I smirked. "I still have some mini-grenades…"

"Better not mention that at the train station." Joe advised. He attempted to maintain a serious expression, yet failed utterly.

"I'll try to remember that." I nodded, still feeling the giggles rising inside of me. For some reason I was feeling lightheaded and giddy. Perhaps it was the lack of food and water, perhaps it was the intense heat of the desert, or perhaps it was simply my own mind dealing with the realities I had endured over the past three days. Whatever the reason, I was glad to sit back and let Joe do the talking.

We entered the train station and approached the ticket counter. The station consisted of a platform at the tracks, and an adjacent building. The majority of the building was taken up by a large waiting room, which I noted was completely empty. In the corner, a sleepy-looking middle-aged man sat behind a ticket counter.

"Do you want the train to Khartoum?" he asked, as we approached. The man's accent was languid and rolling, indicating that he had been born before the UN Universal Language Initiative had been enacted, and had learned a local dialect as a child.

"That depends." Joe replied. "What's the first train out of here?"

"That would be the train to Khartoum." the man grinned widely. "It's the only train here. Leaves every morning at 0600. It only goes one way. We're at the end of the line."

"Oh." Joe appeared taken aback, but only for a moment. "I guess that's the train we want, then. So tomorrow morning's the next one?"

"Yep." the man replied. "You get lost in the desert?"

"Yeah." Joe grinned in a sheepish fashion. "Damn map was useless."

"You're not the first ones." the man laughed. "I expect you won't be the last."

"Is there a hotel around here?" Joe asked. "Since we can't leave until tomorrow."

"No hotel in Tangea." the man shook his head. "But you can stay here." He swept his arm around to indicate the barren waiting room.

"Thanks." Joe nodded. "I think we'll get something to eat. But we'll be back."

"I know you will." the man laughed. "See you soon."

We left the station and I pointed toward what looked like a local marketplace.

"I checked the posted fares." I informed Joe. "We'll need 5,000 dinar each to buy our tickets. I'm sure I could wipe one of our data pads, and that should cover most of it. Do you think we could sell the first aid kit too?"

"Don't worry about it." Joe smirked. "It's all taken care of."

"Huh?" I was confused. How was Joe able to pay for our train tickets?

"Let's get some real food."

Before I knew what was happening, Joe had pulled me down the street and into the restaurant. I blinked as my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, and a wistful feeling crept over me. The bar on one side of the room, the random selection of tables and chairs off to the side… for a brief moment I was transported back to the Snack J. I wondered what had happened to my bar, in my absence. I had worked so hard to start my business, yet it had never really gotten going. Jinpei had gone along for the ride, but didn't really have the drive to make the place succeed on his own. Glumly, I suspected that the Snack J had disappeared just as easily as I had.

"Thinking of the Snack?" Joe perceived the source of my sudden change in mood. I nodded glumly.

"It was a good place." he said, escorting me over to a table. "Just like my trailer."

I contemplated that. Joe had been through everything I had, and more. Here I was focused on myself, and he was feeling the same sense of loss. I suddenly felt small and selfish.

"We'll get ourselves a new place." I said, placing my hands on his. "We can start over."

"I've already started over."

Before I could respond, a young woman came rushing out to greet us. She came from a back room, presumably the kitchen, and was carrying a tray with two glasses full of a red beverage, a bowl, a pitcher of water and two towels. She placed the bowl, pitcher and towels on the table, and we gratefully washed the dirt of the desert from our hands. As I put down my used towel, Joe's fingers gently grasped mine, and I felt a comforting warmth flow through me. Mildly discomfited, I turned my attention back to the waitress.

"Some abre for you." she was saying, placing the glasses on the table. "Sorry I was so slow. I wasn't expecting anyone so early today. We normally don't get visitors until the weekend."

"That's fine." I smiled, taking a cautious sip of the abre with my free hand. It seemed to be some kind of fruit drink. "This is delicious."

"Thank you. I made it myself." the waitress smiled back. "I'm glad you enjoy it. Most foreigners don't appreciate our customs. Those green men don't care for drinks without alcohol. They don't understand that it is illegal in this country."

"Green men?" I asked. My tone was casual, but my heart was racing. Did Galactors come to this town regularly?

"Men dressed in green." the woman explained. "They used to come here, but not so much anymore. Now we only get a few people like yourselves. Mostly folks lost in the desert." She looked us over with a critical eye.

"You have us figured out." I laughed, but the sound was brittle to my ear. "I think it will take me a week to get the sand out of my hair."

"Talcum powder." the woman advised. "Brush it through and then the sand comes out. You can also dunk your head underwater in a bath; not a shower."

"Thanks." I replied. "I'll have to try that."

"Now what can I get you two?" she asked. "The special today is shorba and maschi."

"Sounds good." Joe cut in. "We'll have that."

"Coming right away, Sir." the waitress nodded, before returning to the back room.

"How are we going to pay for all this?" I asked.

"I told you, it's taken care of." Joe smirked. When I glared at him, he raised his free hand in mock surrender.

"Okay, okay." he capitulated. "Before we left, Dr. Raphael gave me some UN cash notes, a secure Swiss credit account number and a passport for each of us."

"So why didn't you tell me this earlier?" I demanded.

"Dr. Raphael asked me not to. I figured it wasn't a big deal." Joe shrugged. "I don't think he entirely trusted you, away from his influence, with money and a passport."

"No." I shook my head. "I can see why he didn't. But he doesn't need to worry about that anymore."

"Why not?" he raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

"I can't go anywhere without you." I replied honestly. "You're all I have, Joe."

"You could always convince me to go with you." he whispered conspiratorially, leaning forward across the table toward me. It was only then that I realized I was still holding his other hand.

"Would you go?" I asked curiously.

"You're all I have, Jun." he repeated my own words back to me. I found myself oddly unable to reply, and simply gaped at him from across the table.

"Do you really want to leave?" he asked, after a moment. "Where would you go?"

"I…" I wasn't entirely certain. I had been so focused on simply leaving that I had never thought about where I would go. A part of me longed to go back to Utoland, although I knew that simply wasn't a viable option. I started mulling over options, thinking out loud.

"Somewhere with a beach…" I mused.

"Ebiza Island has a beach." Joe pointed out. "In fact, being an island, I'm sure there are lots of beaches."

"You have a point there." I smiled, appreciating his transparent objective.

Before I could say more, the waitress arrived with a tray, and I found myself diving into the food before us with the enthusiasm of someone who has not eaten properly for days. 'Shorba' and 'maschi' turned out to be a lamb dish and stuffed tomatoes, all served on a bed of rice and surrounded by freshly steamed vegetables. We had small rounds of a flatbread that we used to serve ourselves, as there was no silverware. We ate until we were stuffed, but when the waitress brought out a small dish of peeled fruit for dessert, I found just a little bit more room.

Still, the comfort of a full stomach faded with the thought that Galactors came to this remote village. Certainly the waitress had said that this was less common, now, but all the same, Commander Marstora could easily track us down, if he still had the wherewithal to do so. Even if we avoided Galactor now, there were few foreigners in this place, and we would be easily remembered.

We returned to the train station and purchased our tickets, remaining in the relative cool of the waiting room as the sun blazed down outside. I had picked up some talcum powder at the general store, and availed myself of the small restroom to get the sand out of my hair. The powder worked somewhat, but I longed for a proper bath. I had to make do with brushing my teeth and washing my hands and face in the stale, lukewarm water that ran from the tap. When I was finished with my ablutions, I removed my bracelet and placed it inside of my backpack. No use tempting fate, and allowing someone to recognize it for what it was.

We spent the night stretched out on uncomfortable wooden benches, taking turns resting and keeping watch. We knew that we were far from safe, and as such we remained alert for any sign of danger.

But there was none.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

At 0600 we boarded the train, a cramped, dated mode of transportation that miraculously had the luxury of an overtaxed air conditioning system. For another two days we moved through the desert from village to village, stopping frequently to pick up additional passengers before lumbering on again. The closer we got to our destination, the more crowded the train became. The passengers were an eclectic mix of locals in coarse linen garments, Ifriquians in loose robes and scarves, military servicemen in desert camouflage, and foreigners in a variety of attire. By the time we arrived in Khartoum, approximately sixty hours after we had left Tangea, we had become part of the crowd.

"Where to?" I asked groggily, as we stepped out onto the city streets. A taxi zoomed by, startling me out of my temporary stupor. The conditions on the train hadn't been conducive to getting much rest during our journey.

"Well, since the good Doctor is footing the bill…" Joe grabbed my arm, pulling me down the street and into a waiting taxi.

"Hilton!" he told the driver, thrusting a UN cash note toward the front of the car. The driver grinned from ear to ear, pocketing the note and taking off with the speed of a rocket.

"How do you know there's a Hilton here?" I asked Joe.

"There's one everywhere." he shrugged casually. But the glint in his eye told me that he was enjoying this every bit as much as I was.

The Hilton didn't disappoint. Joe had enough cash on hand to make the hotel manager's eyes pop, and no one commented on our disheveled appearance. Within moments we were whisked away to a large room with a massive bed and a commanding view of the currents where the White Nile and Blue Nile rivers merged.

"A bed!" I exclaimed in delight. "And a real bathroom!" After nearly a week living in dirt and sand, I was more than ready to experience these luxuries.

"I guess I know what you want to do first." Joe smirked, but I was already in the bathroom. It only took me a few seconds to strip off my clothes and slip into the massive bathtub. I made liberal use of the complimentary amenities, and soon the tub was filled with warm water. I closed my eyes, dunking my head underneath the surface and scrubbing my head with shampoo until all of the sand had settled to the bottom of the tub. I drained the water, rinsing everything out, then filled the bath again. I turned on the jets, my muscles enjoying a leisurely soak amongst a sea of foamy bubbles. I closed my eyes, laying my head on a bath pillow, and was on the verge of sleep when I heard a quiet knock on the door.

"Mind if I come in?" I heard Joe ask.

"As long as you don't want the tub." I murmured sleepily.

"I'll make do with the shower." he agreed, and I heard the door close. I smiled to myself, drifting off. I'm not certain if I fell asleep or not, but it seemed like only a moment later when I heard the water running behind me. I turned slightly, only to catch sight of Joe standing at the sink shaving, a towel wrapped around his waist. Only then did it occur to me that I wasn't wearing anything, and for the most part, neither was he. Suddenly, the frothing bubbles of the jetted tub seemed insufficient to preserve my modesty.

"Uh… could you hand me that bathrobe?" I asked nervously, jerking my head over at the back of the bathroom door.

"Sure." Joe replied, putting down his razor and bringing over the requested garment. I giggled involuntarily, due to my nervous anxiety.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Um… your face." I said the first thing that popped into my head. "With that white shaving cream all over it, you look like Santa Claus."

"Oh really?" he raised an eyebrow. "Well sitting there in that tub, you look like a mermaid."

"I'm about to change that, if you don't mind." I glared at him, hoping he'd take the hint.

"Certainly." He bowed with a slightly mocking gesture, before turning around and resuming his shave. As quickly as I could, I grabbed the long terry robe and jumped out of the tub, wrapping myself up and tying the belt tightly. Thusly covered, I quickly exited the bathroom, brushed out my hair, and began looking for my clothes.

They weren't there.

I popped my head back into the bathroom, doing my best not to look at Joe's near-naked form.

"Uh… where are my clothes?" I asked timidly.

"We've been living in those things for nearly a week." he replied, not even bothering to glance my way. "I sent all of our clothes to the hotel laundry. I figured we're not really going to leave the room. We can get room service. Besides, we have our old civvies."

"Oh… that makes sense…" I muttered, backing out again. Of course, he was right. So why did I feel so discomfited?

I sat on the bed, searching through my dusty backpack, opening it up and rummaging through it for my civilian clothes. But instead, I pulled out something else.

My bracelet.

I stared at the blue-white band and the golden faceplate. Fascinated by the sight, my backpack dropped unnoticed to the floor. I fastened the bracelet around my wrist, my fingers brushing against the faceplate.

Did I dare?

This was the first chance I'd had to contact Dr. Nambu. My bracelet was working, and Dr. Raphael's dampening field no longer restricted me. I could turn it on, and within a second I could transmit a message to Hakase. And yet… something held me back.

"Jun."

I looked up guiltily, embarrassment suffusing my entire face.

"I didn't!" I protested. "But…"

"But you want to." He sat down on the bed beside me, taking my wrist in his hands.

"We could." he voiced my thought aloud. "The question is… are we ready to do this?"

"I want to contact Dr. Nambu." I replied, but my voice quavered.

"What about the others?" Joe asked softly. "Do you want to contact Ryu and Jinpei? Do you want to contact… Ken?"

"I…" For a moment I couldn't speak, and I felt tears of frustration welling in my eyes. I took a deep breath, searching inside myself for my true feelings.

What I found was anger.

"No!" I hissed. "Not Ken. Not Ken!" I buried my face in my hands. There was no holding back the tears now. Joe wrapped his arms around me, his hand gently stroking my hair.

"Ken can never know…" I sobbed. "He doesn't want to know. He doesn't want me. He doesn't care!" My fists pounded against the hard muscles of Joe's chest, venting my anger on the person who deserved it the least.

"What do you mean, he doesn't care?" Joe asked, not moving, merely taking my physical abuse in stride.

"If he cared… if he wanted me… he would have found me…"

"What?"

"He…" I pulled back slightly, realizing what I had just said. "He would have found me. It's been a year. If he had really looked… wouldn't he have found me?"

"Maybe." Joe frowned. "I'm sure they looked, Jun. After all, they wouldn't have found our bodies. But Dr. Raphael doesn't want to be found. You know that as well as I do."

"I guess…"

"Did you really _want_ him to find you?"

"I don't… I don't want him to know what I've become." I admitted. "But… at first... a small part of me did. I just wanted to know that he had tried…"

"I'm sure he tried, Jun."

"It doesn't matter." I choked back another sob. "He never wanted me anyway. I knew that, years ago. But that didn't stop me from acting like an idiot. I think… maybe it just got to be a habit. I trusted in him to lead us, to show us the way, to give us all a future… I was deluding myself into thinking he'd be a part of _my_ future. I just never allowed myself to consider any other possibility."

"And now?"

"Now? It doesn't matter now." I laughed acrimoniously. "I think I stopped loving Ken long ago. But that's hardly important; he'd never have me. I'm not worthy of him. Especially not _now_."

"You're worthy of him, Jun." Joe replied. "More than you know. But you're right about one thing. He'd never accept you as you are now. Even without his 'duty' getting in the way, Ken could never allow himself to have feelings for a 'machine'." His mouth twisted bitterly, and I suddenly understood.

"No… Ken could never understand the way you felt… about Lucy."

"She was created by Dr. Raphael…" Joe whispered. "Did you know that?" I nodded my head, but his eyes stared at me blankly, and I wasn't certain he had even seen the gesture. Still, he went on.

"Dr. Raphael told me about Lucy. She was the first cyborg he created, after she was injured in a racing accident. But Katse… Katse wanted to alter her further…. make her more of what _he_ wanted. When Raphael refused, Katse had him imprisoned. Lucy came to see Raphael later… and he hardly recognized her. He said that Galactor had stripped nearly every last shred of humanity from her."

"You saw her, after that." I said softly. "How did she appear to you?"

"Different." Joe admitted. "Harder. More callous. But still… underneath it all was the Lucy I had known. And she… she remembered me. She remembered everything… how we had felt about each other…"

"She didn't want to follow her orders." he explained. "At the end, she was actively trying to disobey those orders, to reveal the location of Galactor Headquarters, but they did something to her… At the time, I was furious with Lucy, but now… now I understand. I understand what it's like to be a machine, beholden to your creator, being forced to do what they want, even if it's against your own will…"

"You still have your own will, Joe." I reminded him. "You can make your own choices."

"Can I?" Joe sneered self-deprecatingly. "Do you remember what Ken said? He said that a cyborg's weakness was that they concentrate on one thing and forget everything else. That it's a cyborg's fate."

"It's not _our_ fate, Joe." I insisted, pulling him close, so that he buried his face in my hair. "Perhaps that was true for Galactor cyborgs, who were altered far beyond what they were supposed to be. But Dr. Raphael clearly doesn't think so. Look at me! Don't you think, if he were going to do something like that, he would have altered me? Forced me to change my mind about escaping? But he didn't. Instead, he set guards to watch over me… and you. He made you responsible for me. But you volunteered for that. _You had a choice_, Joe."

"I have a choice…" he muttered softly into my ear, his voice filled with dawning recognition. I pressed my hands against the back of his head, soothing him as I used to do for Jinpei when he was younger. For a long moment we sat there, rocking gently on the bed. The depth of Joe's feelings amazed me. I had known him for so many years, yet I had never seen beyond the surface, to the deep well of emotion that lay inside of him. Covering up any sign of sentiment had become second nature to him, and I understood how devastated he was inside to have that instinctive barrier torn down.

"I choose…"

The words were so soft, I wasn't entirely certain Joe had uttered them at all. He pulled back, slowly, his cheek pressing softly against mine, his lips brushing against my jaw. Just as we were about to break apart, he turned his face, and his mouth grazed mine: a tender kiss that communicated everything in an instant. He moved back a few centimeters, his blue-grey eyes searching mine with an intensity I found slightly unnerving.

"Was that… okay?" he breathed.

"Yeah… that was okay." I whispered. He leaned forward slightly, and this time his light kiss wasn't accidental.

"Just 'okay'?"

"Better than 'okay'." Another soft taste of his mouth followed my statement.

"A little better?"

"Uh huh…"

His fingertips were tracing along the side of my neck, and now they dipped down slightly beneath the fold of my bathrobe, trailing along the top of my collarbone, toward my shoulder.

"How about that… was that okay?"

Alarm bells began to race through my head, and instinctively, my hand snapped up, grabbing his fingers and holding them in place.

"Joe… I'm _not_ Lucy."

"I know that, Jun."

"I'm not…" I desperately searched for words to explain what was going through my head. "You'll find someone else, someday, Joe. Another woman…"

"There won't be another woman." His eyes hardened, and I felt his fingers twitching underneath mine, eager to curl into a fist. "Ever."

"Don't say that…" My heart went out to him. "You will…"

"I won't." he interrupted sharply, yanking his hand away from me. "I can't. How can I? I'm not human anymore! I'm a damned machine!"

"Is that how you see me?" I asked painfully, his words searing across my soul.

"Jun… no!" His expression was horrified, and I could see that he hadn't thought at all about how his words applied to me. "That's not what I meant at all... I meant… I'm different now. I don't know what I'm doing… I might hurt a woman…"

"You wouldn't hurt her." I replied, reaching out to touch his cheek. "You're capable of gentleness, Joe."

"You don't know that."

"I do… you showed me, just now."

"But we weren't… Goddamn it, Jun! I know I'm not human anymore, but I sure as hell _feel_ human."

"Our _feelings_ are human." My eyes held his, to ensure that he understood what I was saying. "Who we _are_… that still remains. If it didn't, we wouldn't hurt so much."

"We don't know what's going to happen: what plans Dr. Raphael has for us." he said. "We could die tomorrow."

"And how does that make this life any different from the one we had before?" I asked.

"You're right. It doesn't." he agreed, his eyes holding mine captive. The tables had turned, and now he was in control of the situation, reaching out to draw my face closer to his.

"I know you're not Lucy." he said quietly. "And my feelings, human or not, are real." He pulled me forward, our mouths meeting again, this time for a slow, exploratory kiss. I felt light, giddy, as if this were happening to someone else. It couldn't be real…

"Joe…"

He put a finger over my lips, stopping the words from slipping out.

"This isn't sudden, Jun. I've been… thinking about it."

"I…" My eyes pleaded with him, begging him to understand.

"It's Ken, isn't it?" he sighed in frustration. "You're still…"

"No!" The word burst out of me, and the force of it revealed its truth. _I hadn't been thinking of Ken at all._

"It's _not_ Ken." I shook my head adamantly. "In my heart… I gave up on that long ago. This is just so sudden…"

"Is it really?" he asked, his tone slightly amused. "You haven't sensed anything there?"

My mind whirled. I thought back, the past six months passing through in a tumultuous rush. The aching sense of desolation before Joe had found me. Our mutual support… the way we had been there for each other throughout our time in Dr. Raphael's base. The way I had felt, sitting next to Joe's hospital bed after transforming to Birdstyle had overloaded his cybernetics. Seeing the expression on his face when he had let me wear his Birdstyle. The comfort I had taken in his presence this past week, as we had endured our escape from the desert.

"I… I hadn't thought about it that way…" I whispered, my eyes widening with sudden understanding. "You're everything to me, Joe."

"We're everything to _each other_." he clarified.

"Are you sure…" I frowned, trying to put my innate sense of self-doubt into words. "Are you sure it's _me_? Dr. Raphael has created others… other women…"

"It's _you_, Jun. Don't you trust me?"

"I trust you, it's just… no one else has ever wanted me…"

"That's because Ken is an idiot."

"Me? Really?"

"You."


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

He smiled, kissing me again, and for the first time I returned his kiss, understanding where the feelings inside of me were coming from. The giddiness returned, and I felt as if I were floating outside myself, yet still experiencing the joy of that simple contact. The kiss deepened, and instinctively I moved closer, my fingers splaying out against his bare chest as our tongues danced together. His hands weaved themselves through my hair, then smoothed down my back, as if he could hardly believe I was there, in his arms. I found myself being pulled into his lap, my bottom pressing against the muscular hardness of his thighs. A liquid warmth began to grow inside of me, fueled from within as I tasted my own heat.

I felt a coolness across my shoulders, and then the scorching warmth of Joe's lips against my neck, as his fingers caressed the upper part of my arms. In the back of my mind, I understood that he had pushed aside the edges of the bathrobe I wore and fear set in.

"Joe… please…"

"Mmmm… Jun..."

"No… Joe… stop…"

He pulled his head away slowly, his eyes searching mine. He must have seen the panic reflected in my eyes, because he wasn't angry or disappointed, as I had expected.

"You're trembling…" He traced a gentle finger along the line of my jaw.

"I'm… I've never…"

"You haven't been with a man before?"

"No." I admitted, my face burning bright red. "I'm sorry…"

"Don't be sorry." he tipped my face back up to his, pressing a light kiss onto the tip of my nose.

"It's just too much." I shied back, pulling my robe back up around me, like a protective shield.

"No one has ever… approached you?"

"Not exactly…" I bit my lip, not certain I wanted to relive the memories, but I knew I owed it to Joe to attempt an explanation. "There was Koji, but… when I said no, he left. I didn't see him again until… well, you know how that worked out."

"No one else?" he asked gently. "Not…?" I laughed bitterly, anticipating his question.

"No." I replied. "Not Ken. He'd never… not in a million years. But there was one time… when I was captured…"

"Who was it?" Joe growled with sudden fierceness. "Not… Katse?"

"Not Katse." I shook my head quickly, too disgusted to even think of it. "After I had been trapped in the Jigokiller flower, Galactor found me, and held me for days. The guard at my cell, he thought… well, he got the message loud and clear when I broke his arm."

"I imagine so." Joe sounded amused.

"He told his superior he'd fallen." I smiled to myself at the memory. "After that, he couldn't stay far enough away from me."

"So… they never…"

"I wasn't raped, if that's what you're asking." I said quickly. "I always knew that was a possibility, and I damn well did everything I could to avoid putting myself in that kind of position. Although… that one time, I think… if they'd known who I was…" I shuddered. The knowledge of how lucky I had been had crossed my mind more than once over the past couple of years.

"I'm glad they didn't know." he said, softly running his hand along my bared lower arm. "I can't imagine what it would be like, to endure that."

"Well… you can see… why I was nervous?" I stammered. "I… I wasn't trying to be a tease…"

"You're not a tease." he said. "You're not like that, Jun."

"I'm just…." Embarrassment flooded me again as I realized that I was actually talking about this out loud.

"You're just perfect." he said, kissing me tenderly.

"You're very patient." I muttered nervously.

"You're worth being patient for." He nibbled teasingly at my neck. It was a tickling sensation, but it was enough to remind me of the feelings I'd enjoyed a few moments before. I smiled, letting go of my tension, allowing Joe's rare playful mood to relax me. I kissed his shoulder, then nipped it lightly with my teeth. I was rewarded with a grunt of surprise.

"So that's how you want to play…"

"I was just trying to get your attention."

"You've got it, Jun." his expression suddenly turned serious. Slowly, I leaned forward, initiating the kiss myself, inwardly pleased when he responded, following my lead. We shared another kiss, and another, each one lasting longer than the one before. That lightheaded feeling returned, and all I was aware of was the warm tingling coursing through me… sensations that intensified wherever Joe touched my skin. I allowed myself to relax, knowing that whatever happened, it would be something that both of us wanted.

I wriggled on his lap, sighing happily as I let myself be overwhelmed by Joe's kisses. I was floating, and this time, when his fingers brushed at the base of my throat, and over to my shoulders, it felt right. His hands slipped around, behind my neck, to my back, massaging my skin underneath the robe, turning my muscles to water as his magic flowed through me. I pulled myself closer to him, running my fingers curiously up and down his sides, exploring the muscular ridges of his perfect form.

"Jun…" he murmured, breaking our kiss so that his mouth could travel down the column of my throat. His lips left a burning trail along my skin, but rather than being afraid, I welcomed the sensation, embracing it with an excitement that left me gasping. Joe's kisses rained lower and lower, all along the skin exposed by my robe. His fingers traced lines along that boundary, lightly dipping beneath, but holding back, waiting for my approval.

"Oh… Joe…" I moaned, internally wrestling with desire and prudence. It wasn't long before prudence was sent on its way and desire won out. I reached up, placing my hand over his, pushing the terry fabric aside so that he could continue his tender ministrations. His fingers reached down, reverently caressing my breast until it burned, craving something more. I kissed him hungrily, communicating my passion to him without words. His head bent down, and I felt his mouth on my breast, tormenting and teasing as he had done with my throat. Yet this flesh was more sensitive than the other, and had been made more so by his teasing touch. Joe's lips and tongue worked like an electric shock on my skin, simultaneously giving and denying the satisfaction I craved. Just when I thought I could take no more, he shifted, lavishing my other breast with the same treatment. A part of me longed to reciprocate, to engender in Joe the feelings that I was myself experiencing. Yet I didn't know how to go about such a thing. I settled for murmuring appreciatively, running my hands along his bare back, threading my fingers through his hair, hoping that he understood.

I sensed a feather-light touch on my thighs, tickling between them, encouraging them to part. Unconsciously I complied, until I realized where his fingers were heading. Nervously, I stiffened, the pleasure of the moment dissolving in a cold rush of fear. Joe paused, raising his head, kissing me lightly again, drawing away my apprehension with his gentle touch.

"It's okay." he murmured, his breath heavy next to my ear. "We can stop."

"I don't want…" I was finding it difficult to express myself. I didn't want to stop, and yet I didn't want to go on. I looked into Joe's eyes, searching for an answer. What I found was concern. Joe cared about _me_ and what I was experiencing, not for his own needs.

"Slowly…" I whispered.

"Slowly." he agreed, pressing his lips onto my shoulder. Gently, he laid me down on the bed, then stretched out beside me. I squeezed my eyes shut, wondering if I was doing the right thing, going through with this. But as he held me tenderly, I began to relax, remembering whom I was with. Joe was someone I had known and trusted for most of my life. I knew he would never hurt me: would never do anything to cause me a moment's pain, if he could prevent it.

He began his attentions anew, moving at a leisurely pace, kissing, caressing and stroking my body, re-igniting the flame that had previously been burning inside of me. Every square centimeter of my skin felt bruised: swollen, tender and aching for something I couldn't even describe, much less name. I had asked Joe to move slowly, and he followed that instruction scrupulously, even when my body began wishing otherwise, so eager was I for the pleasurable sensations he was engendering within me. An hour ago, I could never have imagined being so impatient for something I had never experienced.

I felt the weight of his hand on my thigh, and mentally I tensed, anticipating his next move. Yet there was none. Joe's hand remained in place, even as the rest of me was being aroused.

Only once I was completely and utterly relaxed did he move his hand again, ever so slightly, dropping his fingers down between my legs. Again I tensed, and again he did not pursue matters further. He simply waited until I could accept this new experience, then proceeded slightly further.

I wasn't aware of the passage of time, though at some point it occurred to me that the sun had gone down, and the only illumination in the room was the soft glow from streetlights far below our tower room. Still, with my enhanced sight it was more than enough to witness Joe's caring expression as he touched me, his desire to please me superseding all else.

It was this, more than anything else, which caused me to give myself up utterly to his gentle ministrations. My arms snaked around his neck, and I pulled him close for a kiss, eyes closed, moaning softly as he continued working his magic. It was as if he knew my own body better than I. Something flickered against the most intimate part of me, and I gasped as a bolt of sweet electricity shot through my body. The flickering came again, once, twice, three times in quick succession, each time shocking me to the core, sending me spiraling out of control. I felt it again, and the resulting sensations flooded my entire body as something burst inside my core, sending its painful sweetness to every part of me, inside and out.

My eyelids fluttered, and as everything slowly came into focus, I was aware of only one thing: Joe. His face was next to mine, staring down at me with a strange mixture of intensity and awe. There was so much I wanted to say, but I found that I was unable to express myself in words. Instead I cradled his cheek in my palm, our eyes locked in a potent gaze, our emotions welling up to the surface and merging together until I couldn't determine whose feelings were whose. I was experiencing every part of it, enthralled by the wonder of this newfound intimacy.

"You're so… beautiful…" he whispered, his eyes never leaving my face. "Every part of you…"

"Joe, I… I don't know what to say. 'Thank you' just doesn't seem like enough…"

"Whatever pleasure you feel, it's far less than you deserve."

"But I never thought…" My words drifted off as I slowly became aware of a hard, throbbing pressure against the side of my leg. My eyes widened as I realized what it was.

"Joe, I didn't realize…" I reached down, tentatively approaching his abdomen, curiosity combining with the aftermath of lust to create a recklessness I hadn't known I was capable of. His towel had come loose, and there was nothing between the press of our flesh.

"Jun, please…" He caught my hand, preventing it from moving further. "I don't think I could take that. This is difficult enough as it is." I nodded slowly, coming to the realization that there was more. That what I had experienced was only the beginning.

"I'm ready…" I whispered. "I want to know…"

"Are you sure?" he asked, his eyes searching mine. "It will hurt."

"I've been hurt before." I replied. "I'm used to that. But you have only brought me joy. Whatever pain goes with that, I can endure."

"It won't be… I won't be… the same." he cautioned.

"You'll be Joe." I smiled. "That's all that matters."

He shifted slightly, moving his body on top of mine, his weight spreading itself across my torso. He was heavier than I expected, but his mass wasn't uncomfortable; rather, the smoldering press of his skin against mine was exciting, stimulating every nerve ending, connecting the two of us in a way I hadn't anticipated. He kissed me, but this time the touch of his mouth wasn't gentle and teasing. It was hard and demanding, stoking the fires of my ardor and insisting that I give back in equal measure. I rose to the challenge, meeting him with every action, every emotion, every intensity he desired. His hands pushed away the last of my robe, freeing my arms. My lusts rose in response, and my hands ran down his back, then daringly below his waist. I explored his hard flesh, smoothing and enticing the skin below my fingertips.

His hand pushed between my thighs, but I was no longer afraid. His burning hardness pressed inside of me, but only to the smallest degree. Joe paused and I moaned my disappointment, my hands clutching at his hips. He pulled back, then thrust hard, sending a shot of pain through that sensitive part of me. I screamed softly, but my distress melted away as soft kisses rained down upon my face and neck.

"Jun… Jun… Jun…"

His voice murmured in my ear, and I could sense his hesitation. Yet the pain was gone, and all that remained inside of me was a yearning hunger too strong to be denied. I undulated my body, urging him to continue. Joe began to stir again, slowly at first, but his movements quickly became faster and faster. Instinctively I wrapped my legs around his hips, contracting my thighs as my body convulsed with the pleasure of our intimate contact. His hands grabbed at my shoulder and my waist, gripping me so tightly that it felt as if he was digging into my skin. He groaned heavily, pulling me even closer against him, my passion-filled cries adding to the sounds of our joining.

I couldn't sense my body anymore. All I could feel was the pleasure within me, eager to break free once more. It seemed as if it would overflow, yet still, it held back, though I longed to set it free. Joe's mouth fell on mine, his tongue thrusting in and out in an unconscious imitation of the actions of our lower bodies. I felt myself begin to soar, and my inner self contracted around him. He stiffened, emitting an almost animal-like sound of satisfaction punctuated by my sharp cry of ecstasy. I crashed over the edge, falling down into the welcoming blackness below.

When I finally emerged, it was to feel Joe's body wrapped around mine, his embrace engulfing me, as if I were a part of him. I sighed happily, snuggling further against his warm skin.

"Joe…" I murmured. "So wonderful…"

"I was about to say the same thing."

"That you're wonderful?" I teased.

"No, that you are." He turned my head so that he could kiss me again, his touch tender and gentle once more.

"I'm not sure why I was so afraid…"

"The unknown is frightening, Jun. But you overcame your doubts, and you have no regrets…?" This last was voiced as a question, and I sensed an endearing vulnerability just below the surface of Joe's emotions.

"No regrets." I assured him, kissing him back. "I could never regret something like this, with the person who means more to me than anyone…"

"I didn't know if I'd ever be able to become involved with anyone again." Joe admitted. "Ever since Lucy, I've had to hold myself back. It was just too much…"

"You were with her, like this, during the Ifriquian Rally…?"

"Yes." Joe admitted. "And even then, I never guessed what she had become. I think that's why it was impossible for me to think about being with anyone, after that…" 

"Joe…" My heart broke as I began to understand the loneliness he must have been suffering all of this time.

"Until now." he whispered, pressing his body against mine. "Until you."

"It feels right, being with you like this." I told him.

"It feels right to me too." he agreed. "Although I think we may have to tone it down a bit."

"Hmmm? Why?"

"It seems my concerns about hurting someone were valid." he noted, brushing his fingers along my shoulder. I looked down, only to see a colorful bruise appearing.

"What is that?" I found more bruises along my legs and torso, although I couldn't feel any pain at all.

"You're not the only one." Joe added in an amused tone, revealing deep black marks along the sides of his hips, where I had grasped him with my thighs. "You've got a powerful grip, Jun."

"They'll heal quickly." I hedged.

"A couple of days." he agreed. "But how do we explain this to Dr. Raphael?"

"Maybe… maybe we don't." I said thoughtfully. "We've been gone a week already, and he said he would be at Ebiza Island in ten days… Perhaps we should just meet him there."

"I like that idea." he agreed, turning me around so that he could kiss me properly. "We need a chance to rest."

"You'll get no rest from me, Condor Joe."


	15. Epilogue

Epilogue

Dr. Raphael's Swiss credit account was sufficient for us to rent a car, and we spent the following few days driving through northern Ifriquia, making our way to the shores of the Mediterranean, enroute to Ebiza Island. By mutual agreement, we pulled off the road at a remote location in the Igyptian desert, leaving the car behind some scrub brush and hiking five kilometers into the middle of nowhere. Eventually, we determined that it had been far enough, and we sat down on the sand, the harsh, unrelenting sun beating down on our heads. Our black garments absorbed the heat, but we didn't feel any discomfort, only the painful anticipation of our next action.

"Which one should we use?" Joe asked.

"Yours." I replied. "It wasn't as damaged as mine, and it's had a longer chance to repair. It's more likely to get through."

Joe nodded, pulling the bluish-white bracelet out of his pocket. We stared at the golden faceplate as it glinted in the sun.

"You do it." he said suddenly, depositing the bracelet into my hand. "You're better at coded transmissions than I am." His voice was steady, but something in his eyes hinted at a deeper reasoning.

"All right." I agreed, and he stood up, turning away, looking toward the horizon in an attempt to disguise his emotions. A few days ago it might have worked, but now he could not hide from me: I knew him almost as well as I knew my own self. Still, I did not draw attention to this fact, and let him seek the isolation he needed.

Tentatively at first, then with more assuredness, I began inputting the message we had written together. With each tap on the faceplate, I became more and more certain that we were doing the right thing. I completed my task, then sat with the bracelet in my hand for a long moment.

"It's ready."

Joe turned back to face me, then knelt down next to my position, staring at the bracelet in my hand.

"You didn't send it." he noted.

"I wanted to make sure it was what you wanted. What we _both_ wanted."

"Send it."

He reached out, tapping the faceplate as it lay in my hand, initiating the transmission that was to travel nearly halfway around the world before reaching its intended destination. Then he turned off the bracelet, slipping it back into his pocket, before holding his hand out to me.

"Let's go."

I accepted the gesture, placing my hand into his. We walked off together into the desert, knowing that our past lives had come to an end, but in another way, our lives had just begun.

**The End**


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